Joelle Cicak - "Calista," "Lenny," "Howey," "Lola," and "Merlin" from the Tattered Tails Series

Joelle Cicak’s work is heavily guided by human relationships with our environments, and  specifically, with animals. This can take many forms, including the intimate understanding of  the animals we keep as pets, as well as the complex entanglements we experience with those  animals who live and dwell beyond our domesticating reach. 

The Tattered Tails takes the form of the latter and is a series that portrays manatee tails as  portraits, with each sculpture corresponding to an individual manatee. It was created after the  down-listing of manatees from the category “endangered” to “threatened” in 2017, when the  artist learned that manatees can be reliably identified by the scarring patterns on their backs  and tails. This information is catalogued in a database titled the Manatee Individual Photo Identification System (MIPS) and is used by conservationists and researchers to access  information regarding migration patterns, family trees, medical records, and more for  individuals within the species. The artist used identification diagrams from MIPS to recreate the  six manatee tails shown here.  

Unlike many other aquatic mammals, the scarring patterns on manatees are not caused by  natural occurrences. Every scar used to identify a specific manatee is caused by human  interference in the form of boat strikes, pollution, and climate change. These dangers are made  even more deadly because of the largest threat manatees face: loss of habitat due to land  development. When this knowledge is paired with the fact that the largest proponents of  manatees’ down-listing were lobbyists for land development companies, a stark picture  appears. This series was created to draw attention to grim future manatees face, and has  unfortunately only become more relevant. Since their down-listing, manatees have faced some  of the deadliest years on record. To date, there are only around 6,000 manatees living in the  wild. 

Many of the manatees in this series are available for symbolic adoption through the Save The  Manatee Organization, which raises funds for rehabilitation efforts and seeks to grow protections for manatees through science driven research and outreach programs.