Lake Natron in Tanzania is one of the most serene lakes in Africa, but it's also the source of some of the most phantasmagorical photographs ever captured - images that look as though living animals had instantly turned to stone.
The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that aren't adapted to it. The water's alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. And deposits of sodium carbonate - which was once used in Egyptian mummification - also acts as a fantastic type of preservative for those animals unlucky enough to die in the waters of Lake Natron.
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Despite some media reports, the animal didn't simply turn to stone and die after coming into contact with the lake's water. In fact, Lake Natron's alkaline waters support a thriving ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, flamingos and other wetland birds, tilapia and the algae on which large flocks of flamingos feed. Now, photographer Nick Brandt has captured haunting images of the lake and its dead in a book titled "Across the Ravaged Land" (Abrams Books, 2013). (Photos: Lake Natron Gives Up Its Dead)
Brandt discovered the remains of flamingos and other animals with chalky sodium carbonate deposits outlining their bodies in sharp relief. "I unexpectedly found the creatures - all manner of birds and bats - washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron," Brandt wrote in his book. "No one knows for certain exactly how they die, but ... the water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds."
"I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in 'living' positions, bringing them back to 'life,' as it were," Brandt wrote, referring to the way he repositioned the animals. "Reanimated, alive again in death."
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During breeding season, more than 2 million lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) use the shallow lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa. The flamingos' nests are built on small islands that form in the lake during the dry season.
Lake Natron is one of two alkaline lakes in that area of East Africa; the other is Lake Bahi. Both are terminal lakes that do not drain out to any river or sea; they are fed by hot springs and small rivers. As shallow lakes in a hot climate, their water temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).
The serenity of Lake Natron - and its flamingo population - are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ngiro River, the main river feeding the lake. As isolated as the lake is (it wasn't even discovered by Europeans until 1954), there are no protections in place for the lake or its threatened flamingo population.
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The body of a flamingo on Lake Natron, as captured by photographer Nick Brandt.
November 21, 2012 --
Artist Claudio Garzón was building a curriculum for a summer art course in Los Angeles when the idea struck. He remembered reading about a soldier in Afghanistan who created action figures out of bottle caps so he tried it himself. Only instead of bottle caps, Garzón used plastic debris gathered from walks along the Los Angeles River. Dubbing his initial sculptures “Plastikobots,” he began teaching art students how to make their own with the intention that they’d learn about ocean conservation at the same time. “When the signs are out there, how could you turn a blind eye?” he said. Here’s a look at Garzón’s steampunk art made from plastic trash.
The L.A. River stretches almost 50 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Claudio Garzón lives several blocks from the river, not far from the area where it meets the Pacific. A net there is supposed to catch ocean-bound debris, but small plastic particles still get through, Garzón said. Nearly every day he walks along the river, documenting the pollution he sees and collecting plastic pieces. “A lot of the people who live by the river have formed organizations to go out there and clean it, but they only go out there once a year,” he said. This photo shows the plastic he collected in a single day.
Garzón dons gloves and carries a bag during his three-mile walks. He cleans the plastic he finds by soaking it for nearly a week in a bleach and hot water solution. “I don’t like bleach, but that’s the only thing that’s going to clean it,” he said. He also started experimenting with a small UV disinfecting system modified from the larger kinds that sterilize surgical instruments. While he allows himself to buy metallic paints, glue, and occasionally some screws for constructing his artwork, Garzón said he won’t buy any plastic pieces. “I have to find it,” he said. And he’s found plenty: butane lighters, pen caps, LEGOs, Easter eggs, broken sand shovels, and doll parts for example.
The name for the sculptures comes from the Spanish word for plastic, which is plastico, but Garzón modified it with a K. With support from colleagues in San Francisco, one of the Plastikobots was first displayed in the main lobby of the EPA building there for about six months. Then Garzón said his colleagues urged him to start making marine animals that would appeal to more people. He decided to run with their suggestion.
Garzón has taught workshops and after-school art programs in Los Angeles public schools. In Watts, his lessons include learning about upcycling, turning trash into something of value, and an introduction to marine biology. “Even though they’re young, they still have a responsibility to do their part,” he said. “But the only way to do that is by having people come and educate them about the problem and what they can do.”
Over the course of a 10-week semester, students at the 109th Street Elementary School in Watts learned about the chemistry of plastic, its persistence in the environment, as well as the impacts it can have on marine life, animals and human health. Garzón also taught them about ocean gyres, enormous rotating currents across the planet that are currently collecting all kinds of waste in a sort of swirling plastic soup.
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Garzón wants to convey a certain vulnerability with the style of his turtle sculptures. “I try to give it a little more emotion within the eyes,” he said. “A lot of people when they buy one of the turtles they say there’s something about the eyes of the sea turtles.”
Garzón co-founded a nonprofit called Save Oceans and Seas, or SOS for short to bring attention to local debris accumulation. In addition, he’s collaborated with several ocean advocacy groups, including Heal the Bay in Santa Monica and the San Francisco-based organization Sea Stewards to support awareness campaigns. “The awareness and attention these pieces have received has been overwhelming,” he said.
During one visit to a local park where families and children like to play, Garzón noticed that Styrofoam plates left behind were getting scattered around by seagulls. So he began to clean them up. Adults in the park stared at him and one woman even asked why he was picking the plates up. “I go, ‘because it’s an eyesore. You don’t want your little grandson coming over here and playing with the plates,’” he said. “I can’t ignore it.”
Recent rain in Los Angeles triggered a warning about high bacteria levels in the river. When he was a child, Garzón didn’t remember hearing about things like that. Now, chemicals go into the water and plastic stuck there starts leaching. In the land of fish tacos and sushi, the impact can end up on the plate. “More than likely your fish has come in contact with this,” he said. “Think about it: How many pieces of plastic are out in our ocean?”
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One time Garzón found what looked on the surface like an empty container of cooking oil. On closer inspection he made an unsettling discovery. “There were actually mussels growing on the inside of that piece of plastic,” he said. “On the outside you had barnacles.”
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During his sculpture process Garzón takes photos showing the menagerie of plastic components that go into each piece. While most who see his completed art respond positively, he admitted that there are some who accuse him of glorifying plastic. “They go, ‘You can’t tell it’s plastic.’ I go, ‘you’ve really, really got to look hard,” he said. Once he starts to point out what is what, the pieces sometimes make more sense to them. “The people who actually get it will go, ‘Oh my God I see a butane lighter there. Is that a bottle cap?’ Yes it is.”
A series of steampunk sharks has helped Garzón discuss challenges facing them in the marine ecosystem, he said. In particular, the sculptures open the door to conversations about pressing issues such as shark finning for soup. “(These sculptures) bring awareness to the atrocities that are happening to this majestic predator,” he said.
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Each sculpture ranges in price from $480 to $680 for the robots and $850 to $1,600 for the steampunk marine animals in the Oceanic Series, Garzón said. But on occasion he has forgone the asking price in the name of a bigger cause. “I’ve donated several sculptures to different organizations and nonprofits I believe strongly that they are doing good work,” he said.
“Each piece is unique. Each piece tells a story,” Garzón said of his steampunk artwork. “There is no blueprint.”
A World War II era breakwater in Long Beach that still exists today prevents waves from coming in and out, Garzón observed. That means debris -- particularly plastic trash -- collects in the water and along the beach. “It’s almost like our own personal Pacific gyre,” he said.
Art can be a form of environmental remediation, Garzón says. His eye-catching sculptures are a way into conversations about plastic pollution, ocean conservation, and the impacts all that waste is having on marine life. “We can’t solve the problems if we don’t have enough of an army of marine biologists,” he said. “We have to teach the next generation and say, hey this is cool, saving the environment is cool, saving the ocean is cool, saving the animals is cool.”
Garzón has an inclusive teaching style, ready to share his enthusiasm and what he’s learned with a younger generation to empower them so they can make an impact. “When you walked in that door, you didn’t have any idea of what was going on in the Pacific or any of the oceans around the world,” he tells his students. “As an individual, what do you want to do? How are you going to make that small change?”
The catalyst for Garzón came during a difficult personal time. While reflecting on his life, he began thinking about his daughter and young niece. Garzón vowed to do something positive so he started working with plastic and teaching. “I have my associates (degrees) in design and graphics, but I was always creative,” he said. His parents and teachers he had growing up challenged him and wouldn’t let him go astray. “I want to do the same.”
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