Flipper
Imprisoning the wild – May 2023
Sculpture: unknown & me
Scale 1:16 to 1:1000
For sale (only full project)
This box represents one of the many ways we, as humans, impose out power to the wilderness. Dolphinariums are one of the more flagrant examples where we put our child-like wants before another beeing needs.
Although dolphins have always been a fascinating animal to the human eyes, their popularity rose with the arrival of Flipper and other shows, where their intelectual capacity, their communicative skills and their smile captivated the world.
The Ideal
Love and admiration for wild animals is taught to us since kids. Zoos all over the world show us the magnificence, the power and intelligence of those animals. With some of these animals we have been capable to achieve a relation close enough to have the mirage of domestication.
Dolphins are known to be one of the most intelligent species on the planet, with a language system comparable to ours (if not more complex). It comes as no surprise that they are able to learn from us all kind of tricks, show us amazing skills and interact with us in the most incredible way.
When we see a dolphin show we think they are domesticated animals or that they were rescued after being unable to live in the wild. But, is this the reality behind the scenes?
The Consequence
Dolphinariums and zoos around the world are a very profitable business. The popularity of these places makes wild and young dolphins a very priced pray. One of the most brutal examples of their hunt happens yearly in a small island in Japan, Taiji.
Hundreds of adult dolphins are murdered yearly in this small town, while dozens of young ones are captured to be sent to dolphinariums. Adults can’t be trained so they are used for meat production, that will later be labeled as tuna (as dolphin meet is not socially accepted worldwide).
Not only is this condemned by its cruelty by many organizations but, furthermore, the meet obtained contains high concentration of mercury, making it toxic for human consumption.
The Result
There are only seldom examples of animals that are capable of being domesticated and all of those have been cohabiting with humans for centuries. In the case of wild animals, having them in captivity, is usually an unjustified struggle.
When Flipper showed the world what dolphins were capable of doing, humans started dreaming of their dosmestication. But as soon as Flipper’s own trainer discovered, this was not a feasible deed.
Dolphins are one of the few animals that breathe consciously. The constant need for new dolphins to perform in zoos around the world comes from the fact that, when kept in captivity, they simply choose to stop breathing.
Learn more about the topic
The cove - Louie Psihoyos
In this documentary you can see the insights of Taiji dolphin hunt. In the film a group of activists manage record the process of the hunt, otherwise hidden to the public.
My octopus teacher - Pippa Ehrlich
A film that shows a respectful relation between a wild animal and a human being and the fascinating intelligence of cephalopods.
Blackfish - Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Another documentary that exemplifies the consequences of trying to domesticate wild animals for the sake of entretainment.
Cowspiracy - Kip Andersen & Keegan Kuhn
A documentary that goes further into the ecological impact of the relation between humans and animals. Viewer discretion is advised.