Marijke Sjollema is an artist who divides her time between her studios in the North of the Netherlands, under sea level, and Sweden, at the seaside. There she leads a quiet life, spending most of her time in the studio.
She draws upon a long tradition of Dutch painting and drawing, but also works with photography, film and installations, inspired by all life in and around the sea.
She is always up for a Cetacean adventure of some kind. Ever since she first encountered, by chance, a wild dolphin in 1993, she has been travelling to meet and sometimes swim with free dolphins and whales all over the world.
‘As an artist I work with the imagination, creating just out of the joy of it.
The idea of a Cetacean Embassy, where dolphin-, whale- and human consciousness can meet, springs from spending so much time with them. The core intention of the Cetacean Embassy is to co-create with the whales and dolphins a means of being able to understand what they wish to communicate to u us.
As with so many others, nothing has spoken more to my imagination than looking into the eye of a dolphin or a whale, to listen to their language and being part of an unknown acoustic world. In the 22 years of doing this, I have seen so many people being profoundly moved by the experience. People change, they get happier, more open, they get stars in their eyes. They start living according to what they know is true. I have even witnessed some remarkable healings. The presence of dolphins and whales generates magic, and miracles are never far away.
If you have ever dreamt of swimming with Dolphins or felt them calling out to you ..... welcome to the club. For anyone who can’t be out there in the oceans, (all the time) this new technology will bring them home to you. There are so many amazing films about dolphins and whales, but with this new technology, for the first time you are coming pretty close to actually being there. The effect of virtual reality goggles, showed me that this is the perfect way of experiencing the cetacean world on dry land. And moreover, most dear to my heart, without having to lock up and abuse dolphins or whales in these places called aquariums.
Of equal importance to me, as there are already such remarkable results in the area of healthcare, it would be great to prove that swimming with dolphins through virtual reality might have a similar healing effect.