Photographer's 'Soup' of the sea will stimulate emotions at Durlston Castle

Internationally renowned photographer Mandy Barker demonstrates the catastrophic effects of oceanic debris or ‘soup’ using thought-provoking images in an exhibition of the same name at Dorset County Council’s Fine Foundation Gallery at Durlston running from 11-28 August.

‘Soup’ describes plastic debris suspended in the sea, in particular the mass accumulation that exists in the North Pacific Ocean known as the Garbage Patch.

Mandy’s images aim to stimulate an emotional response by combining initial attraction and social awareness.

The photos tell the story of oceanic plastics from attraction and ingestion, to the ultimate death of sea creatures, representing the disturbing statistics of dispersed plastics having no boundaries.

Mandy Barker is an international award-winning photographer whose work involving marine plastic debris has received global recognition.

Mandy said, “The impact of oceanic waste is an area I am committed to pursuing through visual interpretation and in collaboration with science, hoping it will ultimately lead to positive action in tackling this increasing environmental problem which is of current global concern.

“The motivation for my work is to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the world’s oceans whilst highlighting the harmful effect on marine life and ultimately ourselves.”

All the plastics photographed have been salvaged from beaches around the world and represent a global collection of debris that has existed for varying amounts of time in the world’s oceans.