We Are Making An Art Video By Swimming With Basking Sharks

The spring is upon us and the basking sharks are returning to the surface waters in the Hebrides. Katie Wright and I (Sofija Sutton) are headed up to rural Oban, Scotland to create an art video and installation combing footage of the mysterious basking sharks with local folklore. Our video 'WILD OBAN' combines regional research, travel, scientific inquiry, art, and a whole lot of gumption!
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SHARKS!!!! AHH!!!!

The elusive basking shark winters in deep waters and, in part, due to their vulnerable and endangered status their lives remain largely unknown. Basking Sharks are also known as 'bone sharks' due to the ribcage-like structure revealed when their mouths are open. Basking sharks are the second-largest living fish reaching 20-26 feet in length. Though they are plankton-eating they still have hundreds of tiny teeth! These gentle giants spark the imagination through their unknown habits, their peaceful nature, and their astounding size.
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The Folklore….

The folklore of the Hebrides waters are magical, terrifying, and - most exotically - bizarrely specific to the area. Stories of certain Blue Men, hags, and sea kelpies (sort of like dangerous water fairies or horses) are only found on this western Scottish coast. That leaves the general public unaware of these fascinating and dramatic tales.
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Our end product will be a large split screen video installation. The work will interweave notions of fear and blur it with the joy of the sublime. We are really interested in how people are drawn to the sea yet it generally is not a place of comfort nor safety. This duality of the unknown and the attractive is one major reason we are drawn there ourselves. Aside from wanting to create this public (and online) video, we both really want to push our comfort limits, knowledge, and artistic growth.
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The coast of Scotland and the Hebrides Islands have abundant wild and beautiful geology, flora, and fauna. Through snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, and sight seeing from the boat we will get real first hand experience with the landscape and nature.
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WILD OBAN is a thrilling project for us as artists and people, and we hope will be an exciting video for all of our viewers.
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To see our promotional video, sea more photos and learn about WILD OBAN search WILD OBAN in Kickstarter or go to:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2106439633/wild-oban
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Funding ends next week, and if you want to help us make this amazing film, please help spread the word and support our cause!
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*Thanks to Basking Sharks Scotland for use of their photographs while we acquire our own.

More info: kickstarter.com