We were fortunate enough to have Professor Drew Harvell come talk to us about glass sculptures of marine creatures, biodiversity, and also screen the film Fragile Legacy. I found the session to be incredibly interesting, as she attempted to demonstrate the parallels between glass sculptures and marine creatures. The beautiful glass sculptures capture many aspects of these marine organisms, including the immense amount of detail and complexity of their surfaces, but also their fragility. Indeed, a large chunk of the film was devoted to the restoration of many glass sculptures that had broken down through the years as a result of a lack of attention and care. This struggle to restore these sculptures mirrors the concern of the individuals in the film to save these aquatic creatures. The deep-water dives of these individuals was not simply for their own enjoyment, but to reveal to human beings the beauty of biodiversity and how quickly it is beginning to diminish.

In terms of inspiring change, I think the glass sculptures can definitely be utilized to help convince people of the importance of saving marine life. Indeed, the reality is that if we continue many of our practices that are harmful to the environment, organisms that are this beautiful and complex (in essence, living art), will only exist in glass form.