Underwater Walk in the Baltic Sea

How does litter actually end up in the Baltic Sea? How long will it float there before it decomposes? And what else is swimming around in our sea? Every Friday and Saturday in August, interested children were able to find out at changing locations in Travemünde, and capture it all together with artist Inga Prasse.

On a huge canvas, the giant painting “Underwater Walk in the Baltic Sea” was created, measuring 1.50 × 10 metres in total and depicting both marine life of the Baltic Sea and litter. Over 8 sessions, a large roll of canvas was unrolled by 1.25 metres each time, so the painting grew from day to day. In total, more than 250 children helped paint the giant picture.

Alongside the painting, interested children and adults could visit a mini exhibition with photos and information about the marine animals of the Baltic Sea, provided by the Ostseestation Travemünde. There was also useful information and a quiz about how litter gets into the Baltic Sea and how long different everyday items take to decompose.

“My goal is to introduce children to the problem of marine litter in an artistic and playful way.“

Inga Prasse

The artist was supported in her art project by the “Meerfreunde” (Friends of the Sea). The “Meerfreunde” are children from Travemünde who also painted and looked after the project together with Inga.

The art project “Underwater Walk” was funded by the Kulturfunken programme of the Possehl-Stiftung.