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Venue
Teloglion Foundation of Art / Thessaloniki French Institute / Museum of Byzantine Culture
Artist
Maria Hedlund
 Artists's biography |
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The Whiteness of the Whale, video, 2006 |
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The Whiteness of the Whale
“The first time I went to the aquarium at Coney Island was in February 2003. Approaching the tank where the whale was kept, I imagined I would meet something huge and overwhelming. But the water was opaque and I saw nothing but milky whiteness. I began to imagine that inside there was a huge white animal. My associations were quick to land on Moby Dick. On the second occasion, the water was of a different quality, turquoise and bright. This time I saw the whale. It was actually quite small, closer to the size of a dolphin. But it had the whiteness in common with the beast of my fantasy. Returning for a third time, the whale was gone, and a sign was up, explaining that the whales (they were in fact three), three females, had all been transported to Georgia to breed with Russian male whales.
Coming back some months later, I did not see small baby-whales, happily swimming around with their mothers. Instead there was a new sign, now announcing that the whales would not return. And that seals would soon replace the whales.
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