The Big Sea is an exploration of the human and environmental costs of neoprene production in ‘Cancer Alley’, Louisiana. Neoprene is a material often used to make wetsuits and the film uses the lens of surfing to expose issues of greenwashing, social justice and environmental racism, and to explore the power individuals have to create change.
Neoprene, a synthetic foamed rubber, is made from the petrochemical compound chloroprene. The film-makers Chris Nelson, Demi Taylor and Lewis Arnold spent four years investigating the health impacts of the material, connecting with the communities affected by the manufacturing process as well as experts, environmentalists and those who use neoprene wetsuits.
Artist Andy Hughes, will introduce the film. Hughes learnt to surf in the late 1980s while studying Fine Art at Cardiff University. Inspired by waves and water, he has developed a practice focused on the nature of plastic waste and the ‘littoral zone’ – the area where land meets the sea. For more than 30 years he has collaborated with scientists, curators, publishers, NGOs, academics, and other artists, to consider our relationships with plastic and pollution-related matters. As part of his introduction, he will share two of his own short video works.