The Polar Bear Project

IMG_0682The Polar Bear Project was spawned from a dream about a drowning bear. The imagery of the bear dominated my thoughts, sketchbook, and google searches. I joined the International Bear Association student group and asked if any of the bear ecologists would benefit from using animation to illustrate their research. Dr. Thea Bechshoft, polar bear researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, shared her research about the effects of pollutants and climate change on polar bears. This information led me to an article that made the whole situation viscerally painful. Boston based band Troll 2 felt the same and were able to synthesize and elaborate the information I’d gathered into a song. I’m working on animating the video using stopmotion, replacement, hand-drawn, and computer animation techniques. The goal is to raise awareness about the effects of pollution and climate change on everyone on the planet and give new breath to the plight of polar bears.

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