The concept of the book was to tell myths about the ocean and its creatures as a metaphor to reflect on humanity polluting the oceans. We took our inspiration from children’s bedtime stories, where there is always a lesson that can be taken from the story but is never prominently mentioned. We wanted to create stories that people could read for enjoyment, communicating a message without it being so obvious. The pollution of the oceans is such an urgent matter, so in this way people would still be made aware of the matter without it feeling like a lecture or study book.
This project was a
collaboration between
Fay Zeilstra
Sophia Reedijk
Valentijn Vonk
Manon Richard
Ana dos Santos Teixeira
Alexandra Pralea
With this goal, we started to research different ways humans pollute the ocean, so we all had a subject to cover. My research was about the pH of the water, the ocean turning more acid because of carbon emission. Humanity has increased carbon dioxide to levels that caused the ocean to increase in acidity as well as temperature. This happens because the gas reacts with the seawater, increasing the acidity by reducing its pH. This has effects on the animals and nature under the surface, impacting biological processes (“How Do Humans Impact the Ocean? – Ocean Conservation Trust”).
After researching my subject, I researched different myths and tales about the sea and its creatures. I have a fascination for Greek mythology, something that I draw inspiration from for my own work as well. So combining this narrative with my own interest was a very enjoyable process. I love reading fantasy, transporting myself away from reality with the tales about mystical beings. Being able to write a fantasy tale, based on a Greek myth was a great way to make this project my own.