An artwork memorialising the impact of the whaling industry on marine life has been installed on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.
The memorial by artist Michael Visocchiis, who was chosen through an international competition, is called Commensalis: The Spirit Tables of South Georgia. Once completed it will consist of seven circular tables made of weathered steel.
The first part of the memorial, the Key Table, has been installed at the former Grytviken whaling station. It shows the number of whales that were processed at South Georgia and sets the context of the overall story of whale destruction.
The six Spirit Tables, which will form part two of the Whale Memorial, will be developed over time. They will represent the six different whale species that were hunted and processed at South Georgia: Blue Whale, Fin Whale, Southern Right Whale, Sei Whale, Sperm Whale and Humpback Whale.
The site of the first part of the memorial is also home to the South Georgia Museum, which is in a building that was once the station manager’s home. The museum, which opened in 1992, explores the history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The Whale Memorial was commissioned by the South Georgia Heritage Trust, which manages the museum and was created in 2005 to preserve the island’s natural, human and cultural heritage.
Alison Neil, CEO of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, said: “As a charity that exists to help protect South Georgia’s natural environment and to preserve its cultural heritage, we hope this new Whale Memorial will provide important opportunities for a greater understanding of the island’s history as well as the possibilities for its future.
“It is a fitting memorial to an animal rather than a human, on an island where nature is in charge.”
The memorial is the first permanent site-specific artwork on the south Atlantic island, which was at the centre of a global whaling industry that pushed whales to the brink of extinction.
There were more than 175,000 whales killed in South Georgia between 1905 and 1965. More recently, following global efforts to ban commercial whaling, whales have been returning to the waters around the island.
The Whale Memorial was made in Dundee in collaboration with local fabricator MCE Engineering.
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