Raising Awareness
for Lolita
by: Nicole Webster
Local Miami artist,
Michael Gray, is
raising awareness
through art for
Lolita, an orca
whale captured and
held for
entertainment
purposes at Miami
Seaquarium for over
four decades.
Orca whales are one
of the most
intelligent species
on Earth. They are
also some of the
most active and
social, travelling
in pods an average
of 75 miles per day.
That is the length
of approximately
2,415 Olympic size
swimming pools.
Lolita lives
virtually alone in a
pool smaller than
Olympic size, and
has not seen another
orca since 1980. In
fact, she is the
oldest living whale
in captivity. Her
home is not
adequately built for
her extreme
sensitivity to
sound. She is forced
to perform tricks
for the viewing
pleasure of people
and has been doing
so for 44 years.
For thousands of
years humans have
hunted whales
primarily for meat
and oil. The
popularity of the
movie Flipper (1963)
created an entirely
new market:
entertainment. At
first, people did
not understand the
harm and
consequences they
were causing these
animals. Now we do.
“I want nothing but
the best for Lolita
and other captured
whales in the
industry, they are
simply not meant to
be kept in
captivity. I hope
people get to see
the mistakes we have
made and realize
that its time to let
these animals live
their lives just as
we do,” said Gray.
Fixing these past
mistakes is what
Gray and thousands
of others around the
world are fighting
and raising
awareness for. In
partnership with The
Peace Mural
Foundation’s OceanUS
project (www.peacemural.org),
Gray created a mural
of Lolita to be
unveiled at the end
of the month.
Gray was born and
raised in Miami, and
had a talent for art
from an early age.
After high school,
he won a full
scholarship to the
International
University of Art
and Design (formally
known as the Art
Institute of Miami)
and graduated in
2008 with a
Bachelor’s Degree of
Fine Arts. He is
currently studying
for his Master’s at
Florida
International
University.
Gray’s first
encounter with
Lolita was as a
child. “I have known
about Lolita for my
entire life, I have
many memories of
going to the Miami
Seaquarium to watch
Lolita as a child. I
have photo albums
from the early
nineties of Lolita
jumping out of the
water and splashing
everyone in the
crowd and I have
personally lost a
camera or two to
such splashes.”
With the happy
memories places like
the Miami Seaquarium
produce, it is easy
to see how
misleading these
shows can be to the
public. A happy
place for people is
a prison for the
animals. Gray
himself was not
fully aware of the
truth behind Lolita
until recently.
“I was aware of
anti-whaling groups
before but it never
occurred to me until
recently that there
was a movement
against trapping
whales for our
viewing pleasure. I
was quite naive to
these realities
until I started
working with Huong
and The Peace Mural
Foundation,” said
Gray.
Educating the public
through art is at
the heart of this
mural and it is what
The Peace Mural
Foundation is built
on.
The collective hope
for Lolita is that
her owners will
allow her to retire
and be moved to her
home waters of
Washington state for
rehabilitation. She
would live in a
transitional coastal
sanctuary sea pen
under human care and
later be given the
option to return to
the wild.
In June of this
year, the Miami
Seaquarium was sold
by Wometco
Enterprises to
California-based
Palace
Entertainment. There
have been no
announcements on any
changes that may be
made to the park,
let alone Lolita.
“I would [like to]
ask the CEO Yann
Calliere what his
plans are for the
future of Lolita and
if she is expected
to die in captivity.
This whale has been
working for over 40
years and has
generated plenty of
wealth for the
company. It is time
for a change and it
is time to take this
highly intelligent
and understanding
animal out of the
tiny tank she is
confined to and let
her live the rest of
her life in peace,”
said Gray.
During a special
public event on
October 25, the
Lolita mural will be
unveiled alongside
The Peace Mural
Foundation’s OceanUS
mural. The OceanUS
project aims to
promote awareness on
major current ocean
issues. The event
will be held from
7-9pm at the
foundation’s Miami
Beach gallery at
1606 Washington
Avenue.
To learn more about
this event, contact
Huong at
305.534.0460 or
huong@huong.org.
Follow Michael Gray
www.facebook.com/artist.michael.gray. |
