Tags
"Save the Arctic", Arctic, arts, Aurora, Beth Gibbons, environment, Greenpeace, London, Man Who Planted Trees, nature, Philip Pullman, Portishead, protest, puppetry
The bear is angry. She is protesting against Shell and other companies wanting to potentially further destroy her habitat through drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic. She led a Greenpeace UK ‘Save the Arctic’ march in London yesterday, from Parliament to Shell’s headquarters on the South Bank, as part of a global day of action.
Aurora, the giant mechanical polar bear puppet, 41 foot long and weighing 3 tons, was designed for Greenpeace by Christopher Kelly and is made from recycled materials, with a roar created by Beth Gibbons of the band Portishead, part of an Arctic soundtrack accompanying the march. The ‘fur’ under her chin contains the signatures of 3 million supporters who have already signed up to the Save the Arctic campaign.
Aurora was aided by a brilliant and encouraging team of volunteers and supporters as well as an array of protesters, young and old. I particularly liked the Ice Maiden/Snow Queens.
This was the perfect political protest, imaginative, captivating, exciting and inclusive. Tuning in to my personal obsessions with polar bears and the Arctic (I am obviously one of many!) this visual spectacle also made me think of other cultural references: the armoured polar bear in Philip Pullman‘s His Dark Materials; the Sultan’s Elephant of a few years ago; religious parades of statues; the theatre productions of the radical Welfare State Company in the 1970’s; steampunk; puppets used for political statements as in Spitting Image. Another recent favourite of mine with an environmental message is the piece by the Puppet State Theatre Company based on the story The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono.
To end the day we heard from representatives of Canada’s First Nations in word and song, a moving conclusion. “My land is NOT for sale” said Arctic resident and First Nation woman Keira Dawn-Kolson.
As a final protest we left our mark outside the Shell building, our footprints leaving a memory.
Further Information
- Aurora the super-sized polar bear (creativereview.co.uk)
- The Radicality of the Puppet Theatre – Aurora’s Ice Walk (vosleska.wordpress.com)
- http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/pictures-building-worlds-largest-polar-bear-20130903
- http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?H=Portishead-singer-donates-glacial-roar-to-Greenpeace-bear&nItemID=70314
dianajhale 
The bear is amazing.
Thank you for leaving your mark on us with thoughtful posts and images that take one’s breath from time to time. Have been a bit distracted of late–this and that can do that–yet I read these posts and for a moment, I was in your England again, a place I have come to enjoy very much.
Oh, and I am among those who obsess over the polar bear and the Arctic, not surprisingly.
Karen
Great post. Although the subject may not be light it warms me to read of folk back home who are energized as opposed to apathetic… Now that I live far away across the pond, I have such good feelings for that part of the British spirit which is honourable, creative and altruistic, and can still occasionally surface in positive ways…
What a wonderful, imaginative way to take action and to be heard… I love the idea of the signatures being part of the bear’s fur. When I first saw your pictures of the bear, I too thought of the armoured bears in Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’. The impact of a huge recycled puppet stalking the streets also conjured associations with the steampunk, environmental theme of the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony.
So hope more eyes and ears will be opened by these inspiring ways of extending this vital message…
Hi Diana, in a way this reminded me of how Patrick Geddes’s used his Masques.to put over his ideas. Large scale, (hundreds of people) and as you describe this one – imaginative, captivating, exciting and inclusive. Beth Gibbon’s roar sounds intriguing. Saw The Man Who Planted Trees with my daughter.at Edinburgh Fringe couple of years ago. We both thought it was wonderful and with a powerful message.
How do these big companies come up with such ideas that are so destructive of our earth?
I heard today of a Chines ship arriving in Rotterdam via the Arctic route, and the savings this will make in travel times from the far eat to Europe. There is a delicious irony that the industrial boom which has fuelled the change of the world’s climate has now created ice-free seas for more economic exploitation, more abuse of the arctic. The appeal of the arctic is that it still represents, for many people, a landscape untouched by the rapacious desires of the western economic model. I have a tinge of worry that the same level of concern is not expressed for less romantic, less pristine, less exotic lands – is this the lesson the polar bear teaches us? That the land it occupies is no more worthy of redemption than the field at the end of our gardens?
Thanks, again, for stimulating the thought processes
Ian
Hi Diana.The idea of the signature fur is great and I also like the snow/ice maidens. Being creative with the message is hopefully a way to engage with more people – let’s hope it works! I was at the elephant spectacle, it was really amazing.