Permanent exhibition

Colors of the Ocean

We are working with a new generation of artists that are placing biodiversity and nature at the heart of their artistic practice. For them ecology is much more than a theme in their work, it expresses their relationship to the world and their believe and values. In this permanent exhibition, Fifthwall honors 10 artists and one collective who, through their work, highlight these issues and bring them into the public discourse. Through art we wishe to promote a collective awareness of the major ecological challenges and solutions to these vital issues.

ALEX TURCO

Alex Turco was born in Udine, Italy on March 5th 1979. During his childhood, Alex’s sensitivity and aesthetic sense were encouraged and developed by the passion handed by his father. He first became very enthusiastic about photography and quickly started graphic design, before being passionate about fashion and art design. Inspired and influenced by the variety of artistic worlds he evolved in, he gathered all his passions and experiences to create his own brand. His inspiration comes from his love for nature, minerals and fossil. According to him

“the natural world is the best inspiration”

Green Poison

GREEN POISON is one of the first subjects created by the artist Alex Turco fifteen years ago. The jellyfish, in the various versions made by Alex, are one of the most popular patterns, for the hypnotic movement they live on and for the particular materiality of the applied resin. As part of our exhibition, this artwork hints at the upcoming consequence of the rising temperature in the ocean which favor the proliferation of jellyfishes.

MULYANA

Mulyana is an Indonesian artist known for his impressive crocheted work inspired by the ocean life. Strongly connected to ecology and spirituality, he uses his works to explore nature and to connect with community. His value and commitment grow around ecology and minority inclusion. He collaborated with a community of transgender women who helped him to craft his work. Through these collaboration Mulyana aims to support minorities and reconnect them with the society.

Harmony 18

Among his best-known works is an installation entitled Sea Remembers, which represents the coral reef. At the same time, he has created a series of works, including the work on display in our hotel, inspired by corals and their diversity of colors. Most of Mulyana’s works are colorful and bright, illustrating marine life and richness. In contrast, her “Bety” series is a colorless work, using only white textile, highlighting the damage that pollution can have on ocean life.

CHARLES XELOT

Charles Xelot was born in France in 1985. He currently lives and works in Moscow. For the last few years, Charles Xelot has been exploring the limits of development in modern society. He is documenting the relationship between Man and his natural environment and focusing on the impact and consequences of the contemporary way of living. His interest in social and environmental issues has led him to the far corners of the world, while his work gradually evolved from a documentary to a more contemporary style.

Crying Whale

The photograph was taken on the shores of the Russian Bering Strait, in the village of Lorino, where a small community of men survive on the resources of the sea. Their main source of food is the hunting of marine mammals, walruses and whales, for which they use traditional practices and very little means.

“Is a portrait a way to immortalize oneself, to fix an impalpable present? Life and death are part of a natural cycle, killing to survive is a common thing. Did we, as a species, went too far in our will to survive? This picture symbolizes those questions.”

GERLANDA DI FRANCIA

Gerlanda Di Francia was always fascinated by the world of tattooing that brought her a new vision of images, symbols and formal construction. The desire to know new forms of pictorial expression led her into the world of Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism art. Her work is inspired by contemporary themes created with classical techniques. Her imagery is often suspended between tattoo graphics, illustration and sacred icon.

Filicudi

This artwork called Filicudi represents a legend told by the inhabitants of the Salina’s island in Sicily. It is said that the God Aelous defends the Grotta Del Bue Marino, which house an enormous seal. At the end of each summer, the seal would meet the mermaid Amanda to renew his promise of love. And every year, fishermen come to the cave to sing melodies to the mermaid and her lover.

In the past, our ancestors (all over the world) considered elements as gods or divine forces and held a deep respect for nature, which we unfortunately progressively lost over time. In order to restore our connection to nature and favor a better respect for the environment, should we adopt a less materialistic approach and go toward a more mystical approach to the elements of nature ?

Collaboration with singer-songwriter Alice Pelle (Music):

GIULIA PIERMARTIRI & EDOARDO DELILLE

Edoardo Delille was born in Florence in 1974 and studied photography at the Fondazione Marangoni. His first assignments were in fashion and advertising. Later on he started storytelling through portraits. What he likes the most is travelling, the Mediterranean light, Magritte paintings and exploring borders.

Giulia Piermartiri was born in 1990 in Porto Sant’Elpidio, a small town on the Italian Adriatic coast. She studied photography at Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence. She loves to travel and, through her photography, to tell the stories she meets.

For more information Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille

Diving Maldives

The Maldives holds the record of the lowest country in the world. According to data provided by the United Nations, the Maldivian islands, with an average of just half a meter above sea level, might be already partially submerged by water by the end of the century. It will be the first State in the world to disappear for the consequences of climate change. The Diving Maldives project is a journey on the islands inhabited only by Maldivians. The two artists collected a series of typical underwater photos taken by tourists and projected them as slides, in the streets and in the houses of the inhabitants of the different islands that they visited. A real screening but, above all, a metaphorical projection of a not too distant future that looms over their daily lives.

STELLA TASCA

Born in 1977, Stella Tasca lives and works in Rome. She studied at the Primo Liceo Artistico and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Her major works include the matryoshka figure or lightboxes depicting desecrating saints. Her hallmark is definitely the use of fluorescent colors and the reworking of existing pop figures: reinterpreting them, distorting them and giving them new perspectives and temporal place.

Matrioska “Il giardino delle Eolie”

In 2006, the idea was born to reinterpret the iconography of the original Russian matryoshka and transform it into a more conceptually and modern aesthetic. This particular work was the result of a collaboration in 2019 with the Amanei Gallery in Salina (10 pieces in limited edition). Each matrioska represented a typical feature of the area. This one telly in particular the natural beauty of the island of Salina called “the garden of the Aeolian Islands”, known for its extraordinary wealth of capers, prickly pears, olive trees, vineyards, myrtles, and of course lemons typical fruit of Sicily in general. This reminds us that life above the sea depends on water and that it exists a close interconnection between the two ecosystems that are infact one.

JOSHUA LAMBUS

Joshua Lambus is a photographer known for his immersive take on underwater and adventure photography. Based on The Big Island of Hawaii, it’s oceans, caves and canyons have led him to seek a deeper connection with life’s great unknowns. Active in the environmental and culture conservation, he stated:

“Seeing our fragile ecosystem inch ever closer to the verge of destruction pushes me to continue my work, not only for artistic value, but for a far greater purpose. I hope to tell a story and ask for help for those without a voice.”

Underneath swimmers

Underneath Swimmers offers a perspective from the bottom of the ocean to the surface. In a harmonious scene, it illustrates a group of swimmers as part of the element just like a shoal of fish.

This image echoes the Cave of the Swimmer, a rock painting discovered in Egypt in the middle of the desert. As a testimony, it reminds us of the risks of desertification of wetlands that have occurred in the past.

ENZO MARI

Enzo Mari was an Italian post-Modernist artist who influence many generations of industrial designers. Born in 1932 in a modest family, he taught himself to become designer. He wanted “to create models for a different society” and stated that design should be accessible for all. His objects were elegant, functional and allow a connection with the users. Avant-gardist, he designed environmental-friendly objects, using recycle bottle to create vases. He stated:

“It would be worthwhile to promote a general acceptance of the principle that ethics should guide all forms of design”

16 Pesci

The 16 Pesci is the result of a collaboration between Mari and the design studio Danese Milano. This puzzle (displayed as a drawing in our hotel) was cut from a single block of wood and is composed of 16 marine animals: 12 fishes, 3 mammals and 1 mollusk. The 16 fishes assembled form a puzzle, apart they can form many compositions. For Enzo Mari, the playful aspect of a product was as important as its form and function. This artwork represents the connection we can see in nature forming a whole and that everything and everyone depend one to the other.

SIMONA CAPITINI

Simona Capitini was born in Florence in 1964. She studied at The Academy of Fine Arts in Bari and in Florence and specialized eventually at RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts. She started painting at an early age and won various painting competitions. Working with blue tints, she mostly paints large and abstract painting showing ocean floor.

“Let’s say that I belong to the water and I know how to catch every nuance. Since I was a little girl I loved to swim in the sea for hours and even very far out to sea as if I were at one with it. I was not even afraid of high water. When I tunred 30 years old I had the opportunity to meet a Tibetan shepherd who told me that maybe in another life I was a fish!”

Nelle profondità durante un temporale

Simona Capitini works on wooden boards on which she applied layers of painting without, nontheless, covering the entire wooden base. This way of doing things allows pieces of wood to merge with the colors and shades of blue, reminding us of the complementarity of the elements and the unity and interconnectedness of ecosystems.

ALEX TURCO

Alex Turco was born in Udine, Italy on March 5th 1979. During his childhood, Alex’s sensitivity and aesthetic sense were encouraged and developed by the passion handed by his father. He first became very enthusiastic about photography and quickly started graphic design, before being passionate about fashion and art design. Inspired and influenced by the variety of artistic worlds he evolved in, he gathered all his passions and experiences to create his own brand. His inspiration comes from his love for nature, minerals and fossil. According to him

“the natural world is the best inspiration”

Green Poison

GREEN POISON is one of the first subjects created by the artist Alex Turco fifteen years ago. The jellyfish, in the various versions made by Alex, are one of the most popular patterns, for the hypnotic movement they live on and for the particular materiality of the applied resin. As part of our exhibition, this artwork hints at the upcoming consequence of the rising temperature in the ocean which favor the proliferation of jellyfishes.

MULYANA

Mulyana is an Indonesian artist known for his impressive crocheted work inspired by the ocean life. Strongly connected to ecology and spirituality, he uses his works to explore nature and to connect with community. His value and commitment grow around ecology and minority inclusion. He collaborated with a community of transgender women who helped him to craft his work. Through these collaboration Mulyana aims to support minorities and reconnect them with the society.

Harmony 18

Among his best-known works is an installation entitled Sea Remembers, which represents the coral reef. At the same time, he has created a series of works, including the work on display in our hotel, inspired by corals and their diversity of colors. Most of Mulyana’s works are colorful and bright, illustrating marine life and richness. In contrast, her “Bety” series is a colorless work, using only white textile, highlighting the damage that pollution can have on ocean life.

CHARLES XELOT

Charles Xelot was born in France in 1985. He currently lives and works in Moscow. For the last few years, Charles Xelot has been exploring the limits of development in modern society. He is documenting the relationship between Man and his natural environment and focusing on the impact and consequences of the contemporary way of living. His interest in social and environmental issues has led him to the far corners of the world, while his work gradually evolved from a documentary to a more contemporary style.

Crying Whale

The photograph was taken on the shores of the Russian Bering Strait, in the village of Lorino, where a small community of men survive on the resources of the sea. Their main source of food is the hunting of marine mammals, walruses and whales, for which they use traditional practices and very little means.

“Is a portrait a way to immortalize oneself, to fix an impalpable present? Life and death are part of a natural cycle, killing to survive is a common thing. Did we, as a species, went too far in our will to survive? This picture symbolizes those questions.”

GERLANDA DI FRANCIA

Gerlanda Di Francia was always fascinated by the world of tattooing that brought her a new vision of images, symbols and formal construction. The desire to know new forms of pictorial expression led her into the world of Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism art. Her work is inspired by contemporary themes created with classical techniques. Her imagery is often suspended between tattoo graphics, illustration and sacred icon.

Filicudi

This artwork called Filicudi represents a legend told by the inhabitants of the Salina’s island in Sicily. It is said that the God Aelous defends the Grotta Del Bue Marino, which house an enormous seal. At the end of each summer, the seal would meet the mermaid Amanda to renew his promise of love. And every year, fishermen come to the cave to sing melodies to the mermaid and her lover.

In the past, our ancestors (all over the world) considered elements as gods or divine forces and held a deep respect for nature, which we unfortunately progressively lost over time. In order to restore our connection to nature and favor a better respect for the environment, should we adopt a less materialistic approach and go toward a more mystical approach to the elements of nature ?

Collaboration with singer-songwriter Alice Pelle (Music):

GIULIA PIERMARTIRI & EDOARDO DELILLE

Edoardo Delille was born in Florence in 1974 and studied photography at the Fondazione Marangoni. His first assignments were in fashion and advertising. Later on he started storytelling through portraits. What he likes the most is travelling, the Mediterranean light, Magritte paintings and exploring borders.

Giulia Piermartiri was born in 1990 in Porto Sant’Elpidio, a small town on the Italian Adriatic coast. She studied photography at Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence. She loves to travel and, through her photography, to tell the stories she meets.

For more information Guilia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille

Diving Maldives

The Maldives holds the record of the lowest country in the world. According to data provided by the United Nations, the Maldivian islands, with an average of just half a meter above sea level, might be already partially submerged by water by the end of the century. It will be the first State in the world to disappear for the consequences of climate change. The Diving Maldives project is a journey on the islands inhabited only by Maldivians. The two artists collected a series of typical underwater photos taken by tourists and projected them as slides, in the streets and in the houses of the inhabitants of the different islands that they visited. A real screening but, above all, a metaphorical projection of a not too distant future that looms over their daily lives.

STELLA TASCA

Born in 1977, Stella Tasca lives and works in Rome. She studied at the Primo Liceo Artistico and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Her major works include the matryoshka figure or lightboxes depicting desecrating saints. Her hallmark is definitely the use of fluorescent colors and the reworking of existing pop figures: reinterpreting them, distorting them and giving them new perspectives and temporal place.

Matrioska “Il giardino delle Eolie”

In 2006, the idea was born to reinterpret the iconography of the original Russian matryoshka and transform it into a more conceptually and modern aesthetic. This particular work was the result of a collaboration in 2019 with the Amanei Gallery in Salina (10 pieces in limited edition). Each matrioska represented a typical feature of the area. This one telly in particular the natural beauty of the island of Salina called “the garden of the Aeolian Islands”, known for its extraordinary wealth of capers, prickly pears, olive trees, vineyards, myrtles, and of course lemons typical fruit of Sicily in general. This reminds us that life above the sea depends on water and that it exists a close interconnection between the two ecosystems that are infact one.

JOSHUA LAMBUS

Joshua Lambus is a photographer known for his immersive take on underwater and adventure photography. Based on The Big Island of Hawaii, it’s oceans, caves and canyons have led him to seek a deeper connection with life’s great unknowns. Active in the environmental and culture conservation, he stated:

“Seeing our fragile ecosystem inch ever closer to the verge of destruction pushes me to continue my work, not only for artistic value, but for a far greater purpose. I hope to tell a story and ask for help for those without a voice.”

Underneath swimmers

Underneath Swimmers offers a perspective from the bottom of the ocean to the surface. In a harmonious scene, it illustrates a group of swimmers as part of the element just like a shoal of fish.

This image echoes the Cave of the Swimmer, a rock painting discovered in Egypt in the middle of the desert. As a testimony, it reminds us of the risks of desertification of wetlands that have occurred in the past.

ENZO MARI

Enzo Mari was an Italian post-Modernist artist who influence many generations of industrial designers. Born in 1932 in a modest family, he taught himself to become designer. He wanted “to create models for a different society” and stated that design should be accessible for all. His objects were elegant, functional and allow a connection with the users. Avant-gardist, he designed environmental-friendly objects, using recycle bottle to create vases. He stated:

“It would be worthwhile to promote a general acceptance of the principle that ethics should guide all forms of design”

16 Pesci

The 16 Pesci is the result of a collaboration between Mari and the design studio Danese Milano. This puzzle (displayed as a drawing in our hotel) was cut from a single block of wood and is composed of 16 marine animals: 12 fishes, 3 mammals and 1 mollusk. The 16 fishes assembled form a puzzle, apart they can form many compositions. For Enzo Mari, the playful aspect of a product was as important as its form and function. This artwork represents the connection we can see in nature forming a whole and that everything and everyone depend one to the other.

SIMONA CAPITINI

Simona Capitini was born in Florence in 1964. She studied at The Academy of Fine Arts in Bari and in Florence and specialized eventually at RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts. She started painting at an early age and won various painting competitions. Working with blue tints, she mostly paints large and abstract painting showing ocean floor.

“Let’s say that I belong to the water and I know how to catch every nuance. Since I was a little girl I loved to swim in the sea for hours and even very far out to sea as if I were at one with it. I was not even afraid of high water. When I tunred 30 years old I had the opportunity to meet a Tibetan shepherd who told me that maybe in another life I was a fish!”

Nelle profondità durante un temporale

Simona Capitini works on wooden boards on which she applied layers of painting without, nontheless, covering the entire wooden base. This way of doing things allows pieces of wood to merge with the colors and shades of blue, reminding us of the complementarity of the elements and the unity and interconnectedness of ecosystems.

Capri, Fukushima with a stop in Marmara

Installation

Within the framework of the permanent exhibition proposed at the Marina Gardens Boutique in the theme “Colors of the Ocean”, FIFTHWALL has gathered a group of local artistic collaborators, including an architect and a graphic designer, to develop an installation around this theme. The members of the collective are Benedeta Basti, Gabriele Testa and Leonardo Castellana.

The project has evolved around the materiality and color of the oceans. It deals more specifically with the pollution of the oceans, in several forms: plastic pollution, chemical pollution or the more pernicious and invisible one due to radioactive materials like uranium or plutonium.

The exhibition as well as the installation aims to raise awareness that each of us has a role to play, however small. Indeed private or small-scale initiatives contribute effectively to the resolution of part of the problem and, when put together, they have a considerable impact, sometimes more concrete than public policy infrastructure measures that are slow to materialize.

CAPRI

Every day, thousands of tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans. While a small portion of this waste floats on the surface, the rest disintegrates into microparticles and seeps into the ocean. Dragged along by the marine snow, the microplastic deposits a significant amount of carbon in the deep ocean, which impacts the ocean’s regulatory system. In addition, microplastic is also ingested by many marine species that carry it along the food chain, right up to our plates.

On a global scale, the Mediterranean Sea holds the record for pollution. Indeed, there are nearly 1.25 million micro plastic fragments per square kilometer. The large number of tourists is a considerable part of the problem, since it is estimated that each summer this generates a 40% increase in waste.

Among the initiatives undertaken in the Mediterranean Sea, the association Legambiente coordinates the Clean-up the Med campaign, which organizes numerous beach cleaning operations. During their last edition in May 2022, nearly 500,000 volunteers collected about 800,000 tons of waste on 160,000 km of beaches. These impressive figures demonstrate the strength of the collective and the importance of small gestures which, when put together, have a considerable impact.

In parallel, public institutions also have a role to play and it is most often at the local level that concrete actions are implemented. In Capri, for example, a small island off the Italian coast, the municipality introduced a law in 2019 banning the use of single-use plastic. This decision was unprecedented in European environmental policy and preceded the introduction of a similar, but less strict, law at the European level.

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Local and individual actions are essential to solve the plastic pollution problem. At the political level, the most concrete actions are easier to implement on a small scale, as they involve fewer actors and face fewer obstacles. At the individual level, it is important to remember that every contribution counts and that small actions can have a greater impact than large-scale measures.

FUKUSHIMA

In March 2011, one of the most violent earthquakes ever recorded shook Japan. In Fukushima, the nuclear power plants shut down as soon as the first tremors occurred, but this did not prevent the disaster. A tsunami, then a series of technical defects and human errors caused the release of a significant amount of radioactive particles in the air and in the ocean.

Although this accident was triggered by a natural cause, the nuclear disaster that followed was indeed of human origin and came from the misjudgment of the risk and the negligence shown by institutions and industry players.

The ocean and surrounding marine life were severely impacted by this incident and the radiation level on the coast of Fukushima has exploded. Today, Japan is left with more than one million tons of contaminated water stored in nearly 1,000 tanks. Faced with this problem, the Japanese government announced in 2021 that they were planning to dump this contaminated water into the ocean, which triggered much criticism and opposition.

Uranium-polluted water discharges are not just a state issue. In Italy, for example, mafia organizations have apparently sunk several boats in Calabria carrying barrels of radioactive waste, in particular plutonium , thus polluting the coastline where the mafia members and their families live and seriously jeopardizing their health. But at a global level and on a larger scale, are we not reproducing these irresponsible behaviors by polluting the marine ecosystems?

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Today, without binding international legislation, politicians and states often forget that water does not stop at borders and that polluted water discharged into rivers, seas and oceans has a global impact. It is urgent and necessary to put in place international legislation that understands the high seas as a protected legal asset and that clearly delineates prohibited behaviors. As long as these vital ecosystems do not benefit from international legal protection, they will remain lawless zones.

MARMARA

In April 2021, an impressive layer of sea grass, called mucilage, or more popularly “sea snot”, covered the coasts of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. This is the result of a natural secretion of microorganisms and phytoplankton. Usually, the mucilage is not so excessive and is quickly consumed by marine species. But that year, due to pollution, the sea grass prevented the sea from oxygenating, gradually suffocating all the marine species underneath.

“According to scientists, pollution, climate change (phytoplankton thrive in warm waters) and the uncontrolled growth of Istanbul are to blame. Discharge from rivers clogged with agricultural and industrial runoff appears to have caused phytoplankton to spread and release more mucilage than usual.”

In response to this crisis, the Turkish government has declared the Sea of Marmara a protected area, allowing it to impose stricter standards for waste management and to sanction or suspend polluting activities. While these initiatives are a step in the right direction, they take time to implement, and even today, only half of the water in Turkey is biologically treated.

At a global level, according to a UNESCO report, 80% of wastewater is discharged into the environment without treatment. Indeed, although some countries have already set up efficient water treatment systems, the majority continue to discharge their polluted water into rivers, seas or oceans.

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Today, states tend to focus on the problem at the local level only. However, water pollution is a global problem because water does not stop at borders and the efforts undertaken only make sense if a global and coordinated approach is put in place through a true international cooperation. Thus, in order for everyone to cooperate, it is essential that everyone becomes aware of the preciousness and vital importance of water.

« Capri, Fukushima with a stop in Marmara »

Installation

Within the framework of the permanent exhibition proposed at the Marina Gardens Boutique in the theme “Colors of the Ocean”, FIFTHWALL has gathered a group of local artistic collaborators, including an architect and a graphic designer, to develop an installation around this theme. The members of the collective are Benedeta Basti, Gabriele Testa and Leonardo Castellana.

The project has evolved around the materiality and color of the oceans. It deals more specifically with the pollution of the oceans, in several forms: plastic pollution, chemical pollution or the more pernicious and invisible one due to radioactive materials like uranium or plutonium.

The exhibition as well as the installation aims to raise awareness that each of us has a role to play, however small. Indeed private or small-scale initiatives contribute effectively to the resolution of part of the problem and, when put together, they have a considerable impact, sometimes more concrete than public policy infrastructure measures that are slow to materialize.

CAPRI

Every day, thousands of tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans. While a small portion of this waste floats on the surface, the rest disintegrates into microparticles and seeps into the ocean. Dragged along by the marine snow, the microplastic deposits a significant amount of carbon in the deep ocean, which impacts the ocean’s regulatory system. In addition, microplastic is also ingested by many marine species that carry it along the food chain, right up to our plates.

On a global scale, the Mediterranean Sea holds the record for pollution. Indeed, there are nearly 1.25 million micro plastic fragments per square kilometer. The large number of tourists is a considerable part of the problem, since it is estimated that each summer this generates a 40% increase in waste.

Among the initiatives undertaken in the Mediterranean Sea, the association Legambiente coordinates the Clean-up the Med campaign, which organizes numerous beach cleaning operations. During their last edition in May 2022, nearly 500,000 volunteers collected about 800,000 tons of waste on 160,000 km of beaches. These impressive figures demonstrate the strength of the collective and the importance of small gestures which, when put together, have a considerable impact.

In parallel, public institutions also have a role to play and it is most often at the local level that concrete actions are implemented. In Capri, for example, a small island off the Italian coast, the municipality introduced a law in 2019 banning the use of single-use plastic. This decision was unprecedented in European environmental policy and preceded the introduction of a similar, but less strict, law at the European level.

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Local and individual actions are essential to solve the plastic pollution problem. At the political level, the most concrete actions are easier to implement on a small scale, as they involve fewer actors and face fewer obstacles. At the individual level, it is important to remember that every contribution counts and that small actions can have a greater impact than large-scale measures.

FUKUSHIMA

In March 2011, one of the most violent earthquakes ever recorded shook Japan. In Fukushima, the nuclear power plants shut down as soon as the first tremors occurred, but this did not prevent the disaster. A tsunami, then a series of technical defects and human errors caused the release of a significant amount of radioactive particles in the air and in the ocean.

Although this accident was triggered by a natural cause, the nuclear disaster that followed was indeed of human origin and came from the misjudgment of the risk and the negligence shown by institutions and industry players.

The ocean and surrounding marine life were severely impacted by this incident and the radiation level on the coast of Fukushima has exploded. Today, Japan is left with more than one million tons of contaminated water stored in nearly 1,000 tanks. Faced with this problem, the Japanese government announced in 2021 that they were planning to dump this contaminated water into the ocean, which triggered much criticism and opposition.

Uranium-polluted water discharges are not just a state issue. In Italy, for example, mafia organizations have apparently sunk several boats in Calabria carrying barrels of radioactive waste, in particular plutonium , thus polluting the coastline where the mafia members and their families live and seriously jeopardizing their health. But at a global level and on a larger scale, are we not reproducing these irresponsible behaviors by polluting the marine ecosystems?

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Today, without binding international legislation, politicians and states often forget that water does not stop at borders and that polluted water discharged into rivers, seas and oceans has a global impact. It is urgent and necessary to put in place international legislation that understands the high seas as a protected legal asset and that clearly delineates prohibited behaviors. As long as these vital ecosystems do not benefit from international legal protection, they will remain lawless zones.

MARMARA

In April 2021, an impressive layer of sea grass, called mucilage, or more popularly “sea snot”, covered the coasts of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. This is the result of a natural secretion of microorganisms and phytoplankton. Usually, the mucilage is not so excessive and is quickly consumed by marine species. But that year, due to pollution, the sea grass prevented the sea from oxygenating, gradually suffocating all the marine species underneath.

“According to scientists, pollution, climate change (phytoplankton thrive in warm waters) and the uncontrolled growth of Istanbul are to blame. Discharge from rivers clogged with agricultural and industrial runoff appears to have caused phytoplankton to spread and release more mucilage than usual.”

In response to this crisis, the Turkish government has declared the Sea of Marmara a protected area, allowing it to impose stricter standards for waste management and to sanction or suspend polluting activities. While these initiatives are a step in the right direction, they take time to implement, and even today, only half of the water in Turkey is biologically treated.

At a global level, according to a UNESCO report, 80% of wastewater is discharged into the environment without treatment. Indeed, although some countries have already set up efficient water treatment systems, the majority continue to discharge their polluted water into rivers, seas or oceans.

FIFTHWALL MANIFESTO :

Today, states tend to focus on the problem at the local level only. However, water pollution is a global problem because water does not stop at borders and the efforts undertaken only make sense if a global and coordinated approach is put in place through a true international cooperation. Thus, in order for everyone to cooperate, it is essential that everyone becomes aware of the preciousness and vital importance of water.