Crocheted coral reef exhibition unites art and activism

In the year following the COP21 climate agreement coral reefs have had
their worst year on record.

The important marine ecosystems have been damaged and destroyed by
warming temperatures.

Now, an exhibition in New York is showing the knotty problems facing
many of the planet's reefs.

Two artists have stitched together an ecosystem of their own using
crotchet needles and a range of household materials.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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TAKE VO
The vibrancy and colour of a coral reef, lovingly stitched into life.
But this isn't living coral transplanted to an art gallery in
Manhattan. Rather it's crotched coral.
TAKE VO
Artists Margaret and Christine Wertheim have spent more than 10 years
working on this project.
The sisters from Australia conceived this as a combined art-science
project, designed to impress but also to teach.
Here's Assistant Curator of the Museum of Arts & Design, Samantha DeTillio.

Samantha DeTillio, Assistant Curator, Museum of Arts & Design
"Art has a really wonderful way of humanizing issues that might be too
difficult for people to digest, not because they can't but because
there are a lot of emotions that go along with these. And really great
art has a way of brining people in and engaging them with an issue
that otherwise might be very difficult."

TAKE VO
2016 saw the worst destruction of coral reefs on record.
Warmer water, caused by global warming, killed off the algae living on
the coral that provides it with nutrients.
It's known as bleaching - the coral losing its colour as the algae dies off.
Groups researching global change, like Circle of Blue, believe this
exhibition can help present that reality. Here's Senior Producer at
the organization Cody Pope.

Cody Pope, Senior Producer at Circle of Blue
"There's a belief that occurs that science isn't real, but it
obviously is real. It's happening and has happened. So it's important
for Americans in general to be exposed to this type of thing, so they
can understand what;'s rally happening in the world, and having an
artist perspective from people who have actually been there, who are
Australian, I think will help."

TAKE VO
The Crochet Coral Reef now includes sections showing the effects of bleaching.
And the artists have changed their materials to reflect the human
impact on the natural world.

Samantha DeTillio, Assistant Curator, Museum of Arts & Design
As the project grew and developed they started brining in different
plastic elements, they started crocheting with plastic bags, zip ties,
beads, these types of materials that you can find around your home.
And it's just expanding this idea of consumer waste and the products
that we're bringing to our homes and how these products are then going
to go out and affect the environment."

TAKE VO
To further show that impact the artists collected and saved all of
their plastic waste for 4 years, and turned it into one of the
exhibits.
TAKE VO
The exhibition is a mixture of art and activism.
Allowing people to see the contrast of healthy colorful coral, with
the earthy tones of the bleached dead reefs.
The artists hope their crocheting advocacy now will help to preserve
future coral reefs, that their stitch in time really will save nine.

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