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Beyond drifting

beyond drifting imperfectly known animals

Ophelia medustica, a specimen collected from Glounthaune shoreline, Cove or Cork, Ireland, was made of a stroller wheel. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Artist Mandy Barker has used her photographic talents to capture bits of ocean flotsam — such as stroller wheels, toy horses, burnt plastic flowers and six-pack rings — and transform them into plankton-like sea creatures. Barker's art exhibit will be published in the book "Beyond Drifting: Imperfectly Known Animals" (Overlapse, forthcoming May 2017).

Here, Ophelia medustica, a specimen collected from Glounthaune shoreline, Cove or Cork, Ireland, was made of a stroller wheel.

Nebula

beyond drifting

Nebulae plaurosbrathic, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was formed from a group of partially burnt flowers. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Nebulae plaurosbrathic, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was formed from a group of partially burnt flowers.

Pretty plankton

beyond-drifting

Plamacina retroversta ic. III, another view of the white plastic horse transformed into a drifting piece of plankton. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Plamacina retroversta ic. III, another view of the white plastic horse transformed into a drifting piece of plankton.

Burnt flower

beyond drifting

Pleurobrachia stileucae, a fantastical type of plankton formed is created from a partially burnt plastic flower collected from the Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Pleurobrachia stileucae, a fantastical type of plankton formed is created from a partially burnt plastic flower collected from the Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland.

Plastic horse

beyond drifting

Plamacina retroversta ic. I, a Specimen collected from Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was originally a white plastic horse (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Plamacina retroversta ic. I, a specimen collected from Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was originally a white plastic horse

6-pack rings

beyond drifting

Copeopod langisticus, a specimen collected from Roche's Point, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was originally a six-pack plastic ring. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Copeopod langisticus, a specimen collected from Roche's Point, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was originally a six-pack plastic ring.

Barbie beauty

beyond drifting

Plividas chloticus. In a past life, this sea creature was once the arm of a Barbie doll found on Fota Island, Cove of Cork, Ireland. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Plividas chloticus. In a past life, this sea creature was once the arm of a Barbie doll found on Fota Island, Cove of Cork, Ireland.

Wheelies

beyond drifting

Phoronilasteri crae, collected from Whitepoint, Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was once a tricycle wheel. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Phoronilasteri crae, collected from Whitepoint, Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was once a tricycle wheel.

Quirky creature

beyond drifting

Dinoplage stellices, once a mobile phone case, has been transformed into a fantastical sea creature. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Dinoplage stellices, once a mobile phone case, has been transformed into a fantastical sea creature.

Shoe sole

beyond drifting

Aureplia auristice, collected from Blackrock shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was once a humble shoe sole. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Aureplia auristice, collected from Blackrock shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was once a humble shoe sole.

Electrified

beyond drifting

Heplandista ica, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was transformed into a fantastical plankton species from an electric plug and wire. (Image credit: © Mandy Barker)

Heplandista ica, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland, was transformed into a fantastical plankton species from an electric plug and wire.

Tia Ghose
Tia Ghose
Managing Editor

Tia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.