介绍:
The 1975 Steven Spielberg movie Jaws had a universally chilling effect on the human perception of sharks and firmly stamped the Hollywood version of vicious shark behavior in our memories. With small beady eyes, an abnormally big mouth and countless sharp teeth, sharks seem to be the most ferocious sea creatures in many people&`&s minds.
An exhibition called "Sharks & Humanity" is giving visitors a different perspective on this often misunderstood creature. The displays call attention to the excessive consumption of shark fins, the important role sharks play in the marine ecological system and environmental sustainability.
I&`&m here at the National Museum of China. There are a lot of people here to see the exhibition. It has attracted nearly half a million visitors during the first leg of its international tour in the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. It has also traveled the world to Moscow&`&s Ekaterina Cultural Foundation.
Here&`&s Zhang Meng, an organizer of the Beijing leg of the exhibition, talking about why Sharks are chosen to be the subject of the display.
"It&`&s a coincidence. The founder of Parkview Green, Mr. George Wong, found out that the consumption of shark fins every year has resulted in the death or even the endangerment of sharks. He first forbade all his restaurants to stop serving shark fin soup. This wasn&`&t enough so he called on his artist friends to create something that shows the relationship between sharks and mankind so that more people would know the harmful effects of killing sharks."
The first artwork of the exhibition is called "Shiver" by Wang Guofeng. It&`&s created by screenshots from various shark-related videos. The image is in various shades of red and purple and asks the audience to reflect on man&`&s relationship with nature and to consider how the overfishing of sharks impacts the marine ecosystem.
The next few images are some gruesome paintings of sharks being hunted by humans. There&`&s even a collage of pictures of sharks being sold in markets in Southeast Asia.
According to Zhang Meng, the goal of the exhibition is not to change anybody&`&s perception of sharks.
"Everybody has their own views on sharks. But are they really that terrifying? Maybe some films have given off this impression. Compared with humans, sharks are weak. We are at the top of the food chain. Out of all the animals on earth, humans are the cruelest."
In here, visitors can also gaze upon different paintings of sharks. There&`&s one painted using ink, another with pencil drawing and one with acrylic paint. The most terrifying work in here is a shark made entirely of hooks. These are used especially by fishermen who kill sharks for their fins.
Each year, humans kill over a million sharks, some for their meat, cartilage and skin. Many are killed as bycatch by industrial fishing operations. It&`&s not hard to see who the hunter is from this exhibition.
One of the most popular artworks in here is what looks like a translucent shark turning in mid-air. It is made by artist Li Jiwei.
"The inspiration comes from the beauty of nature, the spirit of the animals and its relationship with humans. Through the transparent material, I hope visitors would see the essence of life and the spinning needle on top represents the time that I hope people would take to think about all the harmful activities they have engaged in."
The artwork is made up of over 70 different plastic and stainless steel chips, which represents human cutting the sharks up for food, medicine, or other materialistic purposes. It&`&s a very vivid representation of what is happening to sharks.
The "Sharks & Humanity" exhibition is a solemn reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of the role that every single creature in our ecosystem plays, especially the sharks.
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