Chris Jordan: Midway
A Message from the Gyre
“I hear this everywhere I go, this sense of ‘I’m too small to make a difference,’ and yet somehow, collectively, humanity has created the problems that we have. So somehow, we all do make a difference.”
CHRIS JORDAN

Nine out of ten seabirds have ingested plastic. By 2050, virtually all seabirds will have plastic in their stomachs. The sea is acidifying, rising and warming at an alarming rate, and we humans are driving the change. People protect what they love, yet we are failing to protect our blue home. Acclaimed photographic artist, filmmaker, and cultural activist Chris Jordan believes this is because we have forgotten what we love. In his Parley Talk, he builds a powerful case against the apathy driving the continued destruction.
To document the consequences of our collective disconnect from nature, Chris turns his lens on the plight of the albatross at Midway Atoll, more than 1,300 miles from the nearest store yet directly impacted by swirling accumulations of plastic debris in the North Pacific Gyre. Chris's work puts the incomprehensible into perspective. His images of Midway confront the true toll of our plastic addiction and growing aversion to grief, inviting the audience to consider what we stand to lose, indeed what we're already losing, should we continue to turn away from our emotions.
Visit the artist's website
Catch the May 2017 world premiere of "Albatross"
“Grief is not the same thing as sadness. Grief is the same as love. Grief is the sibling, or the mirror image of love.”
#ParleyTalks
#fortheoceans
READ MORE
This month, we return to the far north of Australia, check in on the Parley Hawaiʻi island-wide cleanup and rappel down a ravine in Chile to intercept plastic waste.
We speak with Jane Palmer about her company Nature Coatings and its mission to replace fossil fuel-based materials in every industry.
We speak to one of the most important photographers of our time about her journey from “housewife” to pioneering environmentalist. Here, we get her lens on a dying planet.
With new global plastic treaty talks in Geneva now underway, Eddy Frank Vásquez of Parley Dominican Republic shares his thoughts from the frontlines of the negotiations.
Microplastics and plastic chemicals are in our food and in our water. Is there any way to avoid them?
A leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist on her career investigating the health impacts of common plastic chemicals.
This year at Magazine London, we collaborated with the Portugal-based company on an exhibit exploring the future of color.
In this very special edition, we ask Parley’s teams to share their thoughts and firsthand observations from an inspiring global week of action.
Lena C. Emery describes diving with sperm whales in Dominica and documenting their beauty.
This month, we join a unique river raft cleanup in Chile, celebrate Earth Day in Sri Lanka and journey to the northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
In Hawaiʻi, our teams and volunteers are working to restore coastal vegetation, clear out invasive species and clean up the shoreline at Wāwāmalu. Join them on June 1 to continue the work.
Dyeing clothes is a toxic, wasteful process that harms the environment – one team of scientists is changing the future of fabric.