Mandy Barker’s camera zooms in on the plastic and pollution in our seas

As all roads lead to Goa this month, the British photographer hopes her new show will turn our attention to its beach litter

‘Shelf-Life’ by UK-based photographer Mandy Barker, features plastic litter collected from Henderson Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the South Pacific Ocean. It captures turtles weaving their way around a ton of plastic to get out to sea; birds removing plastic from their nest; and the littering of endemic flora with plastic bottles and single-use items at one of the most isolated and uninhabited places in the world. Plastic litter from 25 countries, comprising 45 recognisable brands and logos, had travelled more than 5,000 kilometres to reach the shores of Henderson Island.

Shelf Life is one of the 40 photographs exhibited at Barker’s first solo show in India — Invasion of the Seas — at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panaji, which opened on December 8. “It was truly shocking,” recalls Barker, 57, who accompanied scientists on their voyage to Henderson Island in 2019. “It was my personal experience of finding plastic on my local shoreline that first disturbed me,” reveals Barker who grew up in Hull, a port on the East coast of England. As a child, she used to collect natural objects like stones and driftwood while walking on the beach. But, as time passed by she saw more man-made waste.