This Artist’s Surreal Underwater Artwork Has a Global Message

The worlds of ocean conservation and ballet don’t often meet in an underwater setting, but San Francisco-based artist and documentary filmmaker Christine Ren is doing everything in her power to change that while conveying an important environmental message in the process.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that nearly 1.4 billion pounds (635 million kilograms) of garbage makes its way into the planet’s oceans every year.

Ren, with her credential as a professional ballet dancer and a Master’s degree in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami, is using her carefully staged imagery that requires months of planning to showcase how humans are perpetually taking the oceans for granted.

Says Ren: “Through using a human canvas in my work, I hope to convey at a fundamental level that ocean conservation is a human issue.”

“My work focuses on raising environmental awareness for issues facing our ocean, so staging the images underwater is a natural choice. The underwater sets create a narrative bridge for viewers, bringing them into the heart and soul of the ocean realm.”