My husband and I walked the beach at Camp Pendleton to see this outdoor exhibit. A whale vertebrae is fenced and chained outside to prevent theft. We’ve both been to the New Bedford whaling museum in Massachusetts, and know of the start of their slaughter in 1690, which still continues today. I thought, "In life we kill them, in death we chain them." Our planet’s whales have safe haven, alive or dead. The male hand represents the harpoon users, while the ring on his finger symbolizes the changing relationship between man and whale. I wanted this photo to reflect the life, death, and the possible extinction by man's hand.