West Africa's First Underwater Museum Brings Attention to Environment
2022-06-23
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1About 100 meters from the coast of Dakar, Senegal are eight sculptures rising from the ocean floor, five meters below.
2The pieces of art are part of Oceanium, an ocean diving center and environmental organization in the capital of the West African nation.
3Dutch and Italian artists Mischa Sanders and Philipp Putzer created the sculptures while training in Dakar.
4VOA and other media were not able to visit the sculptures during a planned visit recently because of poor weather.
5The works were first shown at Dakar's art event which ended this week.
6The goal is to bring more attention to the pollution that surrounds the sculptures in the hopes of creating a discussion about the environment.
7Charlotte Thomas is Oceanium's head of communications.
8Thomas said, "You see, here in Senegal, the pollution is everywhere."
9She added, "You go into Dakar and you see waste all around you. And with the rainy season coming, it's going to go into the sea. So, if we are not protecting our land, we cannot protect our sea."
10Besides Senegal's high plastic pollution, development projects over the last ten years have greatly changed the coastline and hurt the easily damaged environment.
11Fish stocks have greatly dropped as commercial and local fishing boats continue to use unsustainable fishing methods.
12In 2015, the government passed a law banning single-use plastic, but it was never enforced.
13Since then, other similar laws have passed, but those never went into effect either.
14Senegal-born Rodwan El Ali, the diving director of Oceanium, oversees the underwater art project.
15El Ali said in French, "I live underwater, and I can see that the areas that were so beautiful when I was young, today not only are there no fish left, but they've been replaced by plastic bottles, cans and all sorts of things. It's painful for me."
16El Ali said he used to see large ocean animals like dolphins, whales and sharks.
17He said he also caught fish that were his size.
18Now, he said, there is hardly anything left.
19"We're in a country where the environment is not a priority."
20He added, "Maybe [politicians] mention it in speeches, but in reality, they do nothing. No one is monitoring, no one is doing anything.
21You could go out to sea and do whatever you want and no one will stop you."
22Since the sculptures were placed underwater in December, they have given rise to their own ecosystem.
23The sculptures are made of a material called clay.
24They are covered in sea life like barnacles, shellfish and urchins.
25Fish visit often to find shelter and feed on plants.
26Organizers say they plan to take on local artists to create new sculptures that will be added to the pieces over time.
27I'm Gregory Stachel.
1About 100 meters from the coast of Dakar, Senegal are eight sculptures rising from the ocean floor, five meters below. The pieces of art are part of Oceanium, an ocean diving center and environmental organization in the capital of the West African nation. 2Dutch and Italian artists Mischa Sanders and Philipp Putzer created the sculptures while training in Dakar. 3VOA and other media were not able to visit the sculptures during a planned visit recently because of poor weather. 4The works were first shown at Dakar's art event which ended this week. The goal is to bring more attention to the pollution that surrounds the sculptures in the hopes of creating a discussion about the environment. 5Charlotte Thomas is Oceanium's head of communications. Thomas said, "You see, here in Senegal, the pollution is everywhere." She added, "You go into Dakar and you see waste all around you. And with the rainy season coming, it's going to go into the sea. So, if we are not protecting our land, we cannot protect our sea." 6Besides Senegal's high plastic pollution, development projects over the last ten years have greatly changed the coastline and hurt the easily damaged environment. Fish stocks have greatly dropped as commercial and local fishing boats continue to use unsustainable fishing methods. 7In 2015, the government passed a law banning single-use plastic, but it was never enforced. Since then, other similar laws have passed, but those never went into effect either. 8Senegal-born Rodwan El Ali, the diving director of Oceanium, oversees the underwater art project. El Ali said in French, "I live underwater, and I can see that the areas that were so beautiful when I was young, today not only are there no fish left, but they've been replaced by plastic bottles, cans and all sorts of things. It's painful for me." 9El Ali said he used to see large ocean animals like dolphins, whales and sharks. He said he also caught fish that were his size. Now, he said, there is hardly anything left. 10"We're in a country where the environment is not a priority." He added, "Maybe [politicians] mention it in speeches, but in reality, they do nothing. No one is monitoring, no one is doing anything. You could go out to sea and do whatever you want and no one will stop you." 11Since the sculptures were placed underwater in December, they have given rise to their own ecosystem. The sculptures are made of a material called clay. They are covered in sea life like barnacles, shellfish and urchins. Fish visit often to find shelter and feed on plants. 12Organizers say they plan to take on local artists to create new sculptures that will be added to the pieces over time. 13I'm Gregory Stachel. 14Annika Hammerschlag reported this story for Voice of America. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15________________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17sculpture - n. a piece of art that is made by carving or molding clay, stone, or metal 18sustainable - adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources 19priority - n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first 20mention - v. to talk about, write about, or refer to (something or someone) especially in a brief way 21monitor - v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time 22ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 23We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.