“Hooked on Life,” the largest exhibition ever made by the artist Vincent Mock, arrived at the Lisbon Oceanarium after having passed through cities such as Amsterdam, New York and Israel. From this Saturday, June 29, you can see the unique pieces created from hooks, representing the struggle for the conservation of the oceans.

In the atrium of the Lisbon Oceanarium in Parque das Nações, it will be possible to see until September 30 seven sculptures of marine animals in real size, built using more than 22 thousand hooks – including an angora shark, a shark- fox and a leatherback turtle, especially created for this show, which aims to alert to the alarming rate of exploitation of the sea.

“In East Timor, fishhooks dating back 42,000 years have been unearthed. These ancient tools, made from seashells, symbolize a time when we were more in harmony with our natural environment“, says Vincent Mock on his website. “However, these hooks [used to create the sculptures] serve as a symbol of the destruction of the marine environment by mankind. Every day, with systematic precision, the fishing industry launches millions of long lines of hooks into international, unregulated waters. “

The fully transparent metal constructions will be suspended in space, “as if they were floating without weight,” explains the Dutch artist. “These sculptures also represent the very enduring life of the ocean,” he adds.

The exhibition will be visible in the Lisbon Oceanarium until September 30th.