Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean

This World Oceans Day, the National Maritime Museum is excited to reveal four brand new digital artworks.

Arts organisation The Collective Makers led an open call for new works in response to the theme Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean.

From over 50 brilliant proposals, four winning artists were selected. Now, they're preparing to bring their works to Greenwich.

See a sneak peek of some of their work and find out more about each artist below. The final pieces will all be on display in and around the National Maritime Museum as part of World Oceans Day celebrations in June.

Sea Change

By Amber Cooper-Davies

Sea Change follows the perspective of a fish trying to go about their life peacefully in an increasingly polluted ocean.

As their friends are replaced by more and more plastic we wonder: will we clear up our mess, or simply continue to exploit the ocean?

Original music by Off The Rails

Copyright Amber Cooper-Davies 2022

Amber Cooper-Davies is an illustrator and animator based in North London. Her work is characterised by a love of physical materials, working with paper stop-motion characters and inky textures in animation and collage across her illustration work. Amber has been lucky to produce work for clients and organisations that reflect her values and ethics about social issues and protecting the environment.

Find out more about Amber's work

Like the Ocean, We Rise

By Aya Mohamed

Much of the news surrounding climate change is negative and depressing. So negative in fact, that it has brought about a new type of anxiety: ‘eco anxiety’. This can be especially acute for young people and ‘Gen Z’, who feel even more restless and unheard.

Like the Ocean, We Rise is a series of animated posters designed to counteract the pessimism, and showcase all of the small changes we can make in our daily lives that will make a difference. Of course this is not enough, and we need large-scale change in all areas, from technology to politics. But it can help everyone to realise the consumer power they hold, and the difference they make.

Aya Mohamed is an illustrator and designer who’s active on social media and uses current events as inspiration for their work. She loves making art relatable to others by incorporating many of the struggles they collectively go through.

Recently, she wrote an essay called ‘The Guilt of Going Green’ and discovered how widespread ‘eco-anxiety’ is, exacerbated by media negativity. She wanted to use her artwork to remind people not to give in to fatalism and complacency. She hopes her work can encourage people to remain optimistic and find community, because climate activism is a collective movement where change is amplified through unified action.

The Silent World

By Richard Devonshire

The Silent World is a looping animation that illustrates the synchronised, collective behaviour of fish.

Numbers of fish are dropping faster than they can reproduce and this is causing profound changes to life in our oceans. As traditional species disappear, other species are targeted. With climate change creating other threats to our oceans, we need to give them all the help we can.

Richard Devonshire uses cutting edge technology to give a modern interpretation of fine art photography, painting, sculpture and drawing. He is creating a body of work which focuses on nature and its relationship with mathematics.

Richard’s creative process involves creating textured 3D models, virtual cameras and lighting systems that mimic real world settings and characteristics. While the work suggests a form of photorealism, their visual qualities also radically differ from that of photography and lends to a heightened level of detail, implying unlimited possibilities.

For The Silent World, Richard is collaborating with Jorge Verdin, a Pasadena-based designer, illustrator, and musician. Under the name Clorofila, he is known as a pioneer of the Nortec music style. The multidisciplinary artist has also created music and sound design for theatre group Teatro Linea de Sombra and collaborated with renowned Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Under the name Tremolo Audio, he is currently working on an album of tape loop-generated ambient music.

See more of Richard's work

The Reversible Pendulum

By Jamie Ardor

A pendulum swings. Clockwork gears turn. An oil rig pump shifts into motion, slowly damaging the ecosystem, raising the sea level and covering the scene in a polluted, contaminated and murky liquid.

All hope is not lost however. As the scene continues, water washes over the desolated landscape. Time reverses, offering hope of a return to the flourishing ecosystem of this planet.

The Reversible Pendulum aims to raise awareness of global warming and sea level rise through animation. The work offers prosperity, and a chance to reverse the continually declining impact on our climate.

Jamie Ardor is a Senior Graphic Designer, artist, and multimedia creative. Having progressed from a Fine Art background into an industrial design level of Visual Communication, he strives to create thought-provoking, unique outcomes to stretch the boundaries of art and design into the everyday lives of society. His other passions, such as music and a dedication to solving the climate crisis, are all inspirations for his work and thought processes, driven by the simple ideology of helping make this world a better place.

Find out more about Jamie's work

Our partners: The Collective Makers

As part of Royal Museums Greenwich's annual residency programme, we are partnering with Woolwich based arts organisation The Collective Makers to co-produce interventions and creative responses throughout 2022, starting with World Oceans Day in June.

The Collective Makers organisation was created due to a lack of opportunity for emerging visual artists. They campaign to improve diversity within the art sector, and to raise artist profiles.

They say: "We regularly host exhibitions and support our artists with their commissions. Our aim is to help visual artists become involved in community projects, especially those in need of expanding their network. Our collective is for the dreamers, doers, achievers, and innovators, who are all willing to make a collective change."

Find out more about The Collective Makers