Taking Back

I have always felt comfortable representing marine fauna in my illustrations. Fish, squid, and octopus have always had a prominent place in my works, whether they are at the bottom of the sea or lost in outer space swimming among skulls and planets. In 2018, I drew a large grouper swimming among the skyscrapers of a city as if the animal was invading the place. My intention when I drew this was to portray the feeling of being lost, of someone who is out of place where they belong. When I was invited to make a poster for the PangeaSeed project, I decided to revisit this idea and try to portray how we humans are invading the space of marine life when we occupy coastal areas. We often see mega buildings erected on the seafront without the slightest care regarding the severe impact they have on coastal ecosystems.

My idea when creating this work was to portray an invasion of marine fauna in a large coastal city, as if the oceans were taking back the space that was theirs. We don't belong to the coast, and they do.

Pedro Correa