The below text was posted on Amber Hawk Swanson’s former blog on February 7, 2012.
I was Amber Doll, Amber Doll was me.
I transformed Amber Doll into a replica of Tilikum.
On February 7th—fifty days after the transformation—I tattooed my body with his name and Livestreamed the process; then wanted to embody Amber Doll again.
I shot a pin-up on Tilikum's transformation table.
A 5 Minute Excerpt of the tattoo process is below. Also below are three pin-ups.
I was Amber Doll, Amber Doll was me.
I transformed Amber Doll into a replica of Tilikum.
On February 7th—fifty days after the transformation—I tattooed my body with his name and Livestreamed the process; then wanted to embody Amber Doll again.
I shot a pin-up on Tilikum's transformation table.
A 5 Minute Excerpt of the tattoo process is below. Also below are three pin-ups.
The following text was posted on Amber Hawk Swanson’s former blog on October 3, 2012.
After transforming Amber Doll into a small replica of the bull orca Tilikum, then tattooing my body with his name and posing with him for pin-up images, I wanted to make work that addressed Tilikum's inability to re-enter the ocean.
For the reasons outlined in my previous post about the stresses of captivity for marine mammals—even if SeaWorld were willing—Tilikum is not a candidate for reentering the ocean on his own.
He was originally captured in waters near Berufjörður off the east coast of Iceland in November 1983 at about two years of age. (Born in August 1980, I am the same approximate age as Tilikum.) As I describe in my letter to Amber Doll, I will take (my replica of) Tilikum to Berufjörður as a gesture toward the re-entry that is not possible.
As a first step toward our joint travel, I visited a fjord about a thirty minute drive from Berufjörður. I shot a second Amber Doll > Tillikum pin-up during a windstorm there.
After transforming Amber Doll into a small replica of the bull orca Tilikum, then tattooing my body with his name and posing with him for pin-up images, I wanted to make work that addressed Tilikum's inability to re-enter the ocean.
For the reasons outlined in my previous post about the stresses of captivity for marine mammals—even if SeaWorld were willing—Tilikum is not a candidate for reentering the ocean on his own.
He was originally captured in waters near Berufjörður off the east coast of Iceland in November 1983 at about two years of age. (Born in August 1980, I am the same approximate age as Tilikum.) As I describe in my letter to Amber Doll, I will take (my replica of) Tilikum to Berufjörður as a gesture toward the re-entry that is not possible.
As a first step toward our joint travel, I visited a fjord about a thirty minute drive from Berufjörður. I shot a second Amber Doll > Tillikum pin-up during a windstorm there.
