GS@XR
The idea came from an action XR carried out
at the Natural Science Museum
where there was a huge whale in the room
and we said to ourselves
well, we have to make a life-size whale
that goes down the street
and helps us with civil disobedience
by mixing that civil disobedience with art.
The process of going from a design to a sculpture was very complex indeed.
In the end what we did was mostly by guess work
calculating the measurements using basic geometry and our desired final length and width
using those figures we drew out the shapes of the ribs by hand on a single large sheet of paper
and then we transferred them to cardboard which we reinforced to give it its basic structure.
We covered that cardboard with newspaper giving it more volume
To that we added a wire structure so that it would be more structurally sound and also have greater rigidity
and finally we covered everything with papier-mâché,
with a mixture that we made with flour, water and so on
and then we applied several coats of paint
The first layer of white, then a yellowish white
and lastly we gave it texture with various other tones.
The Entire Madrid XR node was mobilized for this project.
It was something that really united us by giving us a common goal
where it was very easy to collaborate and very inclusive for everyone during the COP25.
The truth is that it was like our project, our own little baby,
and it was like possibly our greatest motivation and our deadline as well.
The day of the whale, was the day by which we had to have everything finally completed ...
It helped us to unite a lot as a group and have a common project in which we all had to work hard
because we had very little time as the COP had come unexpectedly.
The design of the whale's structure and how it was supported was quite complex.
It kept a group of architects, that we have at XR, thinking for a week or so.
We had several criterea: first that it was a structure that could be easily moved and easily disassembled
and also that it was as dynamic as possible.
In the end, we came up with the solution of using 3-meter poles to hold the whale up high
and we used a braided steel cable to connected the entire structure from within
This was then fixed to the back of the skull and went right through to the tail
it was threaded through each of the individual vertebra and each rib.
The day we rehearsed for the action was the first day that we saw the complete whale.
Something that we had only ever seen in small pieces suddenly came to life
forming an 8-meter whale that rose 3 meters high and had movement
that moved by itself and had very organic movements, very much like a real whale.
It was also very cool to see how people got involved in the movement and became aware of ...
"OK, I have this role of holding this down, right? I have the role of being here to ensure that this does not fall".
It is an Eubalaena glacialis which is a species of whale that used to be common in the Iberian Peninsula.
But due to climate change, human action and the destruction of the ecosystem it is now currently in danger of extinction!
Well, today we are carrying out protest action by Extinction Rebellion
to highlight the huge problem of oceanic ecosystem destruction.
And we have, in an act of civil disobedience, cut off the main street and we are celebrating this funeral march for the whale.
A whale that is in danger of extinction
This is a replica that we have made.
Today, Extinction Rebellion is holding an action to raise awareness of the warming, acidification and loss of oxygen in our oceans
and the harm that that is causing to the ecosystems around the world.
We have spent the last few weeks constructing a 7 meter whale skeleton
to symbolize the dead zones and the destruction and the death of marine life around the world.
We are facing a real emergency.
The oceans truely are the lungs of the planet Producing between 50% and 85% of all our oxygen!
We must pay special attention to ecosystems as fragile as the oceanic ones.
What do we want ? climate justice!
When do we want it ? NOW!
EXTINCTION! REBELLION! EXTINCTION! REBELLION!