Midway Journey
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The Oceans and our Disposable Culture
In September 2009, Chris Jordan, environmental photographer, and five other media artists, first visited the Midway Atoll, a set of islands in the Pacific Ocean, to document the fate of some of the most beautiful creatures on earth, particularly albatrosses. Since then, they have made two more trips to the islands.
On this page you will see what these artists found on their Midway journey and how our disposable culture is tied to the fate of these birds and our oceans.
Photo: wili_hybrid on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wili/ / CC BY 2.0
Where is the Midway Atoll?
Midway Atoll is a collection of three small islands in the North Pacific, about halfway between the U.S. and Asia. One of the remotest places on earth, it was used as a landing spot for planes during WWII. It is located near the apex of the Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling soup of plastic pollution. The islands are covered with plastic garbage.
What can albatrosses teach us?
Carl Safina, in National Geographic, calls albatrosses "the grandest living flying machines on Earth." With wingspans up to 12 feet, they have learned to use the wind to travel hundreds of miles without flapping! Parent albatrosses can travel as much as 10,000 miles to find and deliver food for their chicks.
Midway Atoll, a national wildlife refuge in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, contains the worlds largest colony of albatrosses. However, these days, Safina says,
"Corpses of goose-size chicks litter the island. A few have wing deformities, likely from eating lead paint flaked from buildings. Hideously, the body cavities of many dead chicks contain cigarette lighters and other discarded plastic their parents swallowed at sea and fed to them."
The Midway Beaches are full of Plastic
Chris Jordan at Midway
March 2011
This Powerful Video from the Midway Journey
shows what plastics are doing to albatrosses
These photographs of albatross chicks were made in September 2009 on Midway Atoll. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.
To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
~Chris Jordan, October 2009
If you're like me, this video will tear your heart out. The photos are heart wrenching, devastating and beautiful at the same time. Every time I throw a bottle cap away in the future, these images will come to mind. The only answer I can see is to reduce the use of plastics as much as possible.
Chris Jordan and all of the team, you have done a great service by your work.
On March 17th 2011,
Chris Jordan won the prestigious
Prix Pictet Commission
in Paris for the series
"Midway: Message from the Gyre"
What Can We Do?
1. Reduce - Reuse - Recycle as much as possible and say no to plastic bottles.
2. Tweet - Facebook - Blog - tell your friends about this work. Chris Jordan knows images have impact.
3. Learn as much as you can about this subject and support those working to get the word out.
Be Nurdle Free
Bumper Sticker available through Zazzle
Follow Plastic Pollutes on Twitter
More about the Midway Journey
- The Midway Journey Website
- Daily blog, photos, videos, and more about the team.
- Yes! Magazine
- Follow the journey of five media artists, led by photographer Chris Jordan, to Midway to witness the catastrophic effect of our disposable culture on some of the world's most beautiful and symbolic creatures.
- Wings of the Albatross
- Article by Carl Safina. Photographs by Frans Lanting
How did this page on the Midway Journey affect you?
Please share your thoughts.
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Rafick Feb 5, 2011 @ 6:01 am | delete
- Great lens. Plastic should be banned.
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Milly
Nov 7, 2010 @ 12:17 pm | delete
- This is horrible!!! I am only 11 but I think something should be done. At school I am researching about Midway island and I find it very sad.
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kimmanleyort
Nov 7, 2010 @ 7:00 pm | delete
- Well, Milly I don't want you to be sad. Good for you in taking an interest. You can make a difference by reducing your use of plastics and by being a good example for others. Tell them why you're doing it.
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mukunda22
Oct 27, 2010 @ 11:43 am | delete
- When and where will it end? Another well deserved Purple Star! Wonderful work!!
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eccles1
Oct 15, 2010 @ 8:59 am | delete
- nice pictures !!
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About the Author
Related Pages about Chris Jordan and Ocean Pollution
by kimmanleyort
Mother, wife and photographer who never stops learning. I am a firm believer that we have to change some of our ways to make the world a better place -... more »
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