Science and art combine for thought-provoking event under the whales
Scientists and artists from the University of Southampton – all with a passion for whales – came together for a night of talks and performances at Winchester Cathedral.
Almost 500 people joined the audience for the sold out Ocean Giants event, part of a programme to mark the current Whales exhibition featuring gigantic sperm whale sculptures.
As well as presentations about some of the latest research on whales, there were literature readings and music performances.
Jon Copley , Professor of Ocean Exploration and Science Communication, presented research on ‘whale falls’ – the bodies of deceased whales that come to rest on the ocean floor.
He said: “The average depth of the ocean is over two miles deep. When a whale dies, its body sinks into that world, where it creates an island of life for deep-sea animals. Scavengers pick the meat from the bones and the skeleton is left.”
The whale bones are also a source of food, explained Professor Copley, and deep-sea worms called ‘osedax’ make the bones their home.
“The whale skeleton is like an island colonised by these deep-sea animals,” he said. “Each whale fall lasts for decades, until all the bones are gone.”
Dr Ryan Reisinger , Associate Professor in Marine Biology and Ecology, presented his research on tracking whale migrations to understand where they feed and where they give birth.
He said: “If we want to conserve these ocean giants, as well as enjoying their presence we will need scientifically coordinated efforts from local to global scales.”
And Dr Dina Lupin , Associate Professor in Law, outlined the history of whales and law.
“Sometimes the law changes in unexpected ways, and whales are an example of that,” they said. “For hundreds of years, corporations made huge profits from whaling – it’s a business that started in the seventh century and continues today in some parts of the world. Fifty-eight thousand whales were killed in the First World War to provide Britain and its allies with oil and nitro-glycerine – so it could be said whales helped win Britain the war.”
Dr Lupin explained how ‘personhood’, a central premise of human rights law, has been discussed in legal circles in relation to whale conservation. “But what makes us think whales want to be persons?,” they asked. “Why be a person when you could be a whale?”
The event also featured a reading by Philip Hoare , Professor of Creative Writing, about his encounter with whales from his book ‘Leviathan or, The Whale’, and a spoken word performance by Will May (Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature) accompanied by piano by Dr Benjamin Oliver (Associate Professor in Composition).
Concluding the evening was the premiere of ‘Echolocations’, a musical performance inspired by the underwater noise pollution whales might hear. It was composed by Dr Drew Crawford with Dr Oliver on piano, Dr Liz Gre on vocals and Dr Pablo Galaz on live electronic manipulations.
Ocean Giants took place on Thursday 6 February and was presented by Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute and the Southampton Institute of Arts and Humanities .