Ideal Seal

Work in progress

In pandemic times, the plan of filming our own seal footage was not practical. Seal webcams became a form of ‘real time’ animal contact. As we started to fore-front digital communication, we started to talk about the digital archive of seal footage being indexed on streaming sites.

Ideal Seal uses amateur seal footage to build a portrait of ‘sealness’ and seal behavior. This portrait is mediated by human presence – the sound of air compressors, voices, boats and infrastructure, observation by seals, and shaky footage. It is transmitted through screens and over the internet.

How does our concept of an ‘ideal animal’ influence how we think about and provide care. Is the concept harmful? Could transmission, distance and mediation be useful tools for care? Do we need to see a seal in person, to engage in a practice of care?

Marlaina Read and Emilyndas Oke

Footage used, remixed and edited under fair use.