Oceana Phenomena-Sea Level Stories

Oceana Phenomena: Sea Level Stories opened at Annapolis Maritime Museum on July 13th, 2022. There were eight mannequin Sea Level Messingers and 16 Sea Level paintings. The audience was engaged in the inundation issues facing Annapolis and the surrounding areas. Delegate Dana Jones awarded Jay Fleming and me with citations from Senator Sarah Elreth for using our artwork to bring attention to and support Annapolis' fight against the rising waters that plague this beautiful and historic city! The exhibit is on view until November 13th.

Hi, my name is Jane Lawton Baldridge; I am fundraising for my environmental awareness art project, Oceana Phenomena-Sea Level Stories. I am taking used mannequins, covering them with recycled navigational charts (specific to their regional stories) and painting the water coming up their bodies. I then am taking them out into the public realm to bring awareness to the emergency many communities are finding themselves in.

 

I have had a fascination, maybe an obsession, with water for as long as I remember. Watching my childhood sandcastles fall to the continued impertinent rolling in of waves and tide captivated me. It was but a miniature version of what happens all around the globe. Now, many of the coastal areas of the planet have reason to watch their own erosion, subsidence, and the rising tides reshape their world.

 

I am making art that is a plea for the world to acknowledge the threat of sea level rise.

 

Oceana Phenomena is about Sea Level rise and water quality. Using art as a way to reach the public heartstrings in a way that graphs and data do not. We are late to addressing this problem, and we need to approach it from every angle.

 

The nexct Oceana Phenomena: Sea Level Stories takes place in the Sanger Gallery in The Studios of Key West. Opening October 6th, 2022, will be a total of 20 Sea Level women, children, roosters and hens to represent the residents of the Keys. Over 25 Sea Story paintings will also be on exhibit.

The logistics of this ambitious campaign include expenses for purchasing used mannequins, an intern to help with the application of charts, shipping the "families" to venues, travel for me to be able to speak about the project.

The first group of mannequins has been shown in The Box Gallery in Palm Beach, Palm Beach Design Showroom in Lake Worth, The Elliott Museum in Stuart, and the Annapolis Maritime Museum. I continue to work with stakeholders to schedule exhibits in areas at risk of permanent inundation to bring awareness to their plight. This is a dynamic project to meet the needs of the ever growing problem.

 

 

I have collected used recycled navigation charts to create geographically specific "families" for Annapolis, MD, South Florida and the Keys, coastal Texas, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and the North East - NY to Connecticut. There are many more places around the world, whose plight needs to be told globally.

 

The purchasing of the used mannequins and the shipping of the completed artworks to destinations requiring the educational awareness needed to combat these issues are the larger need. As the project ramps up, the application of the charts is hugely labor intensive so paying an intern to participate in the project is critical.

 

As a working artist, mine are not deep pockets. So the question arises when I sell a painting, do I pay bills or buy mannequins? I would love to sell art to fund this endeavor. If you want or need art for your office or your home, please visit my website MY WEBSITE for more information about me and my paintings for sale. Meanwhile, I hope you can support this campaign! For every donation of $100 or more, I will send a chapbook about the project, mannequins and exhibitions to date. Thanking you in advance!

 

Watch this short video about the Annapolis/Eastport Region.