At the Kotka Maritime Festival (23–26 July 2025), visitors experienced an extraordinary art intervention where the sea, plastic, and myth intertwined. Canadian artist and Aalto University doctoral researcher Gary Markle created a participatory artwork that invited people to reflect on the complex relationship between humans and plastic.
A colorful fishing village rose on the festival grounds, where visitors could take part in crafting material knitted from recycled plastic — feed a sea monster from repurposed materials and finally floating in the Baltic Sea wearing plastic yarn “Selkie skins”.
The work draws from the mythical Selkie, a creature that transforms from seal to human and back again. The Selkie serves as a link between humans and marine nature, highlighting our connection to the issue of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways. According to Markle, the idea was to show how plastic surrounds and inhabits us both visibly and invisibly in everyday life — and to encourage reflection on how we might build a more empathetic relationship with water and the materials we use.
The art intervention was part of the PlastLIFE project coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and co-funded by the EU LIFE Programme. The project promotes a sustainable circular economy for plastics in Finland.
Markle believes that art can stop people in their tracks and inspire them to rethink their relationship with the environment:
“One participant said that while floating in the plastic suit, they felt like a piece of plastic moving with the waves. Such an experience can change the way we relate to the sea and to our use of plastic.”
The event highlighted the public’s awareness and concern for the state of the Baltic Sea. It demonstrated how art can play an essential role in fostering environmental awareness and shared responsibility.
