I’ll start with the broader one first- Marine life has always been something that pulled at my curiosity. Watching Blue Planet and visiting the Aquarium as a munchkin was as enrapturing as sci-fi movies. The creatures were alien, ethereal and moved (most of the time) with such unfathomable grace. It left a large impression on me, leaving me somewhere between “I want to be a dolphin trainer and work with sea creatures” and “I want to be a marine biologist” in my childhood. Growing up, my focus shifted towards art, and had the opportunity to start working from life at the New England Aquarium. I’d sit down with my travel set of watercolors, trying to replicate the beauty in what I saw. I started spending a majority of my time downstairs, in the jellyfish room- where I fell tentacles-over-bell for them.

The long answer as to why I love jellyfish is that they have no brains. There is no possible way for them to any cognitive capability to grasp our presence. We as humanity have a direct relationship with jellies, albeit a primarily negative one. Our actions cause climate change, which bolsters the population of jellies, which lowers fish populations and makes beaches deadly. People are scared of jellies, not unreasonably so, but the immensity of their population is in almost entirety- our fault. Jellies have no way of knowing, reacting, or being about this, Its just how things are. These beautiful, deadly creatures float along, eating everything in sight, instilling a respectable fear- and they’re unaware of it.