The Space We Take

The Space We Take by Ness Lee

Fine art giclée print on Italian cold-press watercolor paper

20” x 16" with a half-inch border

Edition of 50 + 5 APs

Signed & numbered

Printed with ♥ by Paragon Press

"The Space We Take" by Ness Lee (Canada) sheds light on the threatened leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), one of seven sea turtle species that call our oceans home. The leatherback sea turtle is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"This piece was created to highlight the endangerment of the leatherback sea turtle and our impact we as humans have on their livelihoods. As humans, we have taken for granted the very environment in which we occupy- forgetting that without nature and the ecosystem that comes with it, we would not be living as we are today. With this thought and its effects on endangered species such as the Leatherback Sea Turtle, the notion of space and how much we occupy as humans come to mind - do we bear in mind our actions and the ways we cause harm individually and collectively? How much room do we make for each other and the living species that surround us, near and far? With this piece, I wanted to illustrate our presence as impact- the space that we take up and the way we operate within it, becoming what animals are forced live with and unknowingly try and adapt to.

Leatherback Sea Turtles contribute to the marine ecosystem by consuming jellyfish, helping to maintain the jellyfish population and in turn maintain the food chain consumption that proceeds- making the Leatherback Turtles an integral part of the marine ecosystem. Whether or not we are exposed to the ocean as part of our day to day, we live with water in our lives and exercise habits, such as plastic pollution, that affect those waters- making our existence an integral part of the very system that we are causing harm to."

- Ness Lee -