Paddling the Humber River

After finding we were too early for the salmon run at Étienne Brûlé park on Saturday we canoed the Humber on Sunday.

Even though it was busier than I have ever seen it with people in the park we saw so much wildlife. The biggest treat was a pair of deer, which you don’t expect right in the city.

In the same marsh on the Humber River there was a great egret and great blue herons.

The Humber is home to a very large number of double-crested cormorants. We often see mute swans, Canada geese and mallards but this time as the water level was so low in the marsh we saw dozens of these adorable little lesser yellow legs wandering around in the mud.

There were literally piles of turtles, mainly map and painted turtles too.

Turtles, all the way down for World Turtle Day

 

Turtles, all the way down, world, 11" x 14" linocut by Ele Willoughby, 2024

Today is World Turtle Day, a day to celebrate and protect turtles and their habitats worldwide. Years ago I made a print called ‘Turtles, all the way down’ for an art show about cosmology, where the expression is used as a metaphor for infinity regress. This echos origin myths that the Earth is supported on the back of the World Turtle. Though ostensibly about astrophysics, I took the opportunity to depict many species of turtles to celebrate their biodiversity.

This year I was commissioned by Turtle Survival Alliance, to illustrated this expression again, with a variety of wonderful but sadly endangered turtle species of special focus, in two prints: one for turtles from around the world, and one for North American species. Turtle Survival Alliance works to prevent extinctions of these amazing and varied animals worldwide, so I am very glad to make art for this cause!

My newly completed prints are on their way to Turtle Survival Alliance who will be auctioning them, as well as selling signed, limited edition, signed and numbered archival printed posters of each to raise funds for turtle conservation, later this summer.

The worldwide selection of turtles, from top to bottom are:
1 - Vallarta Mud Turtle (Kinosternon vogti), from Mexico
2 - Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), from Africa
3 - Indochinese Box Turtle (Cuora galbinifrons), from Asia
4 - Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), from Madagascar
5 - Burmese Roofed Turtle (Batagur trivittata), from Myanmar
6 - Asian Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei), from Bangladesh

Turtles, all the way, North America, 11" x 14" linocut by Ele Willoughby, 2024

Turtles from North America are:
1 - Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
2 - Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
3 - Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
4 - Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)
5 - Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
6 - Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)

 

My original Turtles, all the way down:

 

Turtles, All the Way Down, 11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm)
linocut with chine-collé by Ele Willoughby, 2016

The turtles in my original print are from the top we have an eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum), a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), a painted batagur (Batagur borneoensis), a Oaxaca mud turtle (Kinosternon oaxacae), a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hint of something larger.

COSMIC turtles

A graphic cosmic timeline, from the
Big Bang to the present day
(Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team)

This year, to coincide with PrintAustin, Art.Science.Gallery is hosting COSMIC, a show of prints about "Origin of the Universe. Evolution of the Universe. String Theory. Dark Matter. Dark Energy. Multiverse. Unification of Space + Time. Our Solar System. Cultural Cosmology." I mean, how could I resist? I've been working in every spare moment to produce two brand new prints for the show. (As it happens, most of my astronomy related prints have appeared in previous exhibits there, so I needed new cosmological material).

My first instinct, the first images I imagined were something like the NASA spacetime diagram shown, which is a graphical representation of a lot of the major concepts of cosmology: the Big Bang, Inflation, the formation of galaxies and so forth and even dark energy and our current accelerated expansion... It's a great use of imagery to communicate science, but it's far too literal. It's a diagram, not a piece of art. So I turned to the figurative, imaginative, metaphorical, to avoid the trap of the literal.

Turtles, All the Way Down, 11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm)
linocut with chine-collé by Ele Willoughby, 2016

In some cultures there are origin myths explaining that the (apparently flat) Earth is in fact supported on the back of the World Turtle (occassionally in conjunction with other beasts). In cosmology - or the astrophysics of the origins of our Universe - there is an expression "turtles all the way down" which relates to a well-known anecdote, and metaphor for the problem of infinite regress. There are many versions of the anecdote. It appears, famously, in Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, amongst other sources. The story goes that a physicist, after explaining the origins of our planet, is confronted by a disgruntled audience member who claims this is nonsense. The Earth is, according to him or her, supported by a great turtle. When the physicist asks about what supports the turtle, the answer is a larger turtle, of course. When the physicist persists and asks what supports this next turtle, why, it's "turtles, all the way down!" of, course. The same problem in epistemology is known as the Münchhausen trilemma, after after the story of Baron Munchausen who claimed to have pulled himself and his horse out of the mire by pulling his own hair, in the ultimate example of bootstrapping. (Incidentally, bootstrapping is a favorite tool of physicists, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, is one of my favorite films).

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: 'What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.' The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, 'What is the tortoise standing on?' 'You're very clever, young man, very clever,' said the old lady. 'But it's turtles all the way down!'

— Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1988

I've illustrated this expression with a variety of wonderful turtle species using collaged or chine-collé papers to show their various colours. From the top we have an eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum), a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), a painted batagur (Batagur borneoensis), a Oaxaca mud turtle (Kinosternon oaxacae), a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hint of something larger.

Those who've known me a long time will know that I've illustrated this concept before, I love turtles, am obsessed with origin myths and am rather found of zaratans. I am now wondering what, if anything, is the difference between a zaratan and an aspidochelone (incidentally, also encounted by none other than the Baron Munchausen, of course)?

The second piece I've submitted for COSMIC is Noh Spacetime. So it's metaphors all the way down.

Ele Willoughby, 'Noh Spacetime', linocut 12" x 12", 2015

The Brick Works

Which reminds me, I never did tell you about our trip to the Brick Works. I've been wanting to check it out. We went the last Sunday in July, for the antique market. I wanted to see the graffiti in the old brick works themselves. It also has its own example of an urban marsh too. RJH thought it was a bit contrived, and the brick works a little too tamed, but I really enjoyed it. I think it's a great idea, reclaiming industrial space as art, event and nature space. I love, of course, that the graffiti is not only left, but featured. They have a farmer's market on Saturdays too. I also enjoyed the historical photos of the great Toronto fire of 1904. I can only imagine how hot it must have been in there with all the kilns firing, day and night, to rebuild the city core.















We saw snapping and painted turtles, and watched the great blue heron at length. The marsh was full of bees, butterflies, dragonflies and moths too. Another oasis within the city.

mad scientists and mutant turtles

Regarding my Darwin entry in the MSOE March Darwin Challenge, jackbear suggested, "That must be Darwin in his "teenage mutant ninja turtle" phase of life!" to which auntcindy replied, "Jackbear - I think it's less of a hero-in-a-half-shell... more of a scientist-on-a-half-shell."

I *heart* crafty scientists. They make me laugh.