Plastic dreams or seasick reality? The oceans are crying for help

The 'Seabed' is a seemingly serene, luxurious, beautiful bed with ocean blue bedding, but what lies underneath the duvet is neither luxurious nor beautiful. Prepare to be shell-shocked as behind the peaceful setting is a mattress created from real local ocean trash.

The mattress is a powerful reminder of the tidal wave of plastic waste that engulfs our oceans,—and to create it, a Greenpeace volunteer in Hong Kong's Sai Kung district known for its pristine water bodies and UNESCO-heritage sites, collected ocean trash—mainly single-use plastics.

Research shows that a staggering 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste finds its way into the ocean each year. And the city of Hong Kong alone flushes out 48,000 pieces of plastic from Tolo Harbour every single day. It's a grim reality that we simply cannot ignore.

Greenpeace, in collaboration with creative partner DDB Hong Kong are holding an exhibition titled 'Seabed' to make the invisible visible and expose the disturbing reality that sea creatures are forced to call their home. 

Greenpeace East Asia campaigner Leanne Tam said, “This exhibition brings us straight to the seabed environment to witness the pollution in person. Nobody would want a bed like this in their home, and yet this is what sea creatures are getting in theirs. Plastic doesn’t belong in the ocean, and we must stop producing unnecessary packaging in plastics and expanding the use of reusable and refillable systems.”

Phoebe Chan, creative director at DDB Group Hong Kong, commented, “This initiative really exemplifies the belief that creative communication has great power to make an impact. Once people look beyond the ordinary and see for themselves the realistic state of the seabed, we are hopeful that people will now think twice about disposing of plastic in the ocean.”

Exhibition: The Sea Our Home: Artistic Exhibition for Ocean Protection Awareness
Location: PMQ gallery in Central District, Hong Kong.
Opening hours: 12pm - 7pm Monday to Friday/ 11am - 7pm weekends and public holidays, until the 16th of July 2023

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