The Ghost Below

Art Installation by Judith & Richard Lang

At The Marine Mammal Center, Opens December 1, 2012

Generously Sponsored by



Fostering Environmental Sustainability
at The Marine Mammal Center

Dive deep into the issues of ocean trash with a tale from the belly of a whale!

Local artists Richard and Judith Lang have created an art experience from one unsuspecting whale’s deathly meals! This hulking and thought-provoking sculpture, made from a portion of the 450lbs of "ghost nets" and trash found in the belly of a dead sperm whale necropsied by The Marine Mammal Center, is just one heartbreaking tale of what can happen to marine life when humans set their garbage adrift. You’ll see, touch, learn and be inspired to make the ocean a healthier place for all.

What's in a Name?

Netting collected from the Pacific Gyre by members of Project Kaisei

© The Marine Mammal Center

The word “ghost” in the exhibit title was inspired by the ghost nets which are lost or discarded at sea by the fishing industry and left to float aimlessly in the oceans for a lifetime. Birds, fish, crabs and marine mammals get caught in this silent floating debris and are lost in what is called “ghost fishing.” It is estimated that ghost nets account for approximately 10% of all marine debris.

In our art exhibit, the "ghost" also applies to the broader problem of ocean trash - our discarded garbage which lurks beneath the surface and haunts the ocean and the marine life that call it home - evident via the numerous seals and sea lions we rescue each year that are found suffering from ingestion of or entanglement in ocean trash.

Plastic is forever!

It's hard not to be artistically inspired by the brightly colored pieces of trash inside Judith & Richard Lang's studio!

© The Marine Mammal Center

Since 1999, Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang have been visiting a remote beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore gathering plastic debris that washes out of the Pacific Ocean.

After carefully collecting and "curating" the bits of plastic, they fashion it into works of art—art that matter-of-factly shows the material as it is whilst telling an underlying story about our throwaway culture and our dependency on this thermoplastic junk. As they have deepened their practice, much like archaeologists, they've found that each bit of plastic has a story to tell, and although art is always a central theme, their work speaks volumes about a very real environmental problem.

Their multifaceted exploration is also a two-part love story which includes their mutual love of art and of this beach, the place they had their first date, and the place that continues to inspire them. They’ve had over 40 exhibitions located in a range of places from local libraries to the SFMOMA and the US Embassy in the Republic of Georgia. Read more about their inspiring art at www.beachplastic.com

We are incredibly honored to be working with Judith and Richard and excited to introduce them and their inspiring work to The Marine Mammal Center community.

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