top of page

Emily Wheatland

Artist Statement 

Greatly inspired by animals and nature, the artist explores into “The Relationship between Animals and Humans” and Anthropomorphism.
Currently her research has delved into the devastating effects mankind is having on our oceans, specifically with plastic waste.
We live in an increasingly throw-away society, but what are the true environmental costs of our perfectly packaged products?
Countless deaths have been caused from sea life mistaking floating plastic bags as their prey,
an issue that can so easily be avoided by recycling or ridding of waste in an eco friendly manner.

After witnessing firsthand the washed up carcass of a whale on a beach in Cumbria, the artist was inspired to create a life size whales ribcage made from discarded, washed up and thrown away plastic items stitched together to represent the delicacy of the oceans infrastructure.

The installation, named “The Whiteness of the Whale” hopes to raise awareness by ensuring that if we reduce, reuse and recycle, by choosing items without plastic packaging and by disposing of waste properly, it will help prevent debris ending up in our oceans.

bottom of page