Ocean-Themed Art Shows for a Heated June

June marks a time for celebrating the start of summer, arriving alongside a dangerous heat wave that is expected to bring the year’s hottest weather to big cities like Chicago and New York. As a result, people are expected to flock to the beaches of warming and polluted oceans and lakes. With this in mind, I prepared four art shows for Climate Heritage Network and Oceanic Global for the month of June.

Mobilized in 2018 during the Global Climate Action Summit and launched in 2019, the Climate Heritage Network (CHN) is a voluntary, mutual support network of government agencies, NGOs, universities, businesses, and other organizations committed to tackling climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. It works to re-orient climate policy, planning, and action at all levels to account for dimensions of culture, from arts to heritage.

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Ocean & River Lovers for World Environment Day

June 5, 2025

The World Environment Day 2025 (WED) was hosted by the Republic of Korea with a theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution.”

My art show for WED raises awareness and inspires action to address the global plastic pollution crisis as a major threat to ocean and river health. This pollution harms marine life, disrupts ecosystems, and even impacts human health. The ever-growing contamination of the environment by plastics is a major scientific and societal concern. Plastic enters the ocean through various sources including rivers, breaks down into microplastics, and poses significant risks to marine organisms through entanglement, ingestion, and the introduction of harmful chemicals.

Plastic pollution is impacting fish in the Amazon River, including discus fish and angelfish in the oceans, which are featured in my WED art show. Microplastics and nanoplastics enter their bodies and cause harm. Studies have shown that these plastics can be ingested by the colorful discus and angelfish, leading to gut blockage, malnutrition, and even death. Furthermore, plastic pollution can affect these fishes’ behavior, reduce growth, and disrupt neurotransmitter levels.

Marine mussels, as ecosystem engineers and filter feeders, are also vulnerable to this type of microplastic pollution according to a recent study. These mussels ingest microplastics, which can negatively affect their growth, physiology, and potentially human health if consumed. However, mussels can also be valuable tools for monitoring and potentially even mitigating microplastic pollution in coastal ecosystems.

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Ocean Lovers for Oceanic Global

For World Oceans Day – June 8, 2025

As an ambassador to Oceanic Global, which reminds us that in the day-to-day of modern life, humanity has forgotten we are part of nature and that the ocean is our planet’s beating heart, I celebrated World Oceans Day with an art show. This show mirrors the theme of World Oceans Day 2025: “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us.” The exhibition highlights the ocean’s wonder and the need to protect it while recognizing the importance of its role in supporting life on Earth.

Oceans absorb over 90 percent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions. This leads to rising water temperatures, ocean acidification, and melting glaciers. These changes are causing significant impacts on marine ecosystems and contributing to sea level rise. Rising seas are threatening to flood coastlines globally, altering ocean currents, and increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as coastal flooding, storm surges, and the inundation of low-lying island nations in the Pacific Ocean.

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The Melting Age – Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)

June 13 – October 31, 2025

Global warming during June was so intense that it triggered Alaska’s first-ever heat advisory. It also caused temperatures in Iceland and Greenland to rise by more than 10°C (18°F) above average during a record-setting heat wave. These conditions raised concerns about the far-reaching implications of melting Arctic ice during “Glacier Year,” according to scientists in a report released by World Weather Attribution.

As the glacier ice sheet melts, it releases massive amounts of fresh water into the salty oceans. This slows down the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an ocean current in the Atlantic that plays a crucial role in regulating global climate. It acts like a conveyor belt, circulating warm surface water northward and cold, deep water southward. This process distributes heat around the globe, influences regional climates, carries nutrients that support marine life, and drives massive migrations in marine ecosystems.

Addressing the impact of global warming on glaciers and oceans are two art shows at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary:

• “Climate Disasters Inspired by Great Masters” — an AI art show by Mary Tiegreen
  [Event link: https://openhouse.ldeo.columbia.edu/content/climate-disasters-inspired-great-masters]
• “The Melting Age” — a group exhibition by Alfons Rodriguez, Fatma Kadir, and myself, Selva Ozelli. The show features photographs and a film by Alfons Rodriguez that span seven continents and over 30 countries, alongside paintings by Fatma Kadir and me.

Both exhibitions at LDEO are also part of London Climate Action Week, taking place from June 21 to 29, 2025.

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HMVC Gallery’s Abstract Realm

Times Square Jumbotron – June 21, 2025

This group art show, featuring a painting from my Ocean Lovers 2 series, marks the first day of London Climate Action Week.

By Selva Ozelli