Authorship Project (2025)
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An interpretation of climate change, specifically the effect on our coral reefs, depicted through a series of illustrations and letters from an unknown author.
Original character: A Coral Nymph, Koralia. Greek Mythology mentioned: Medusa and the myth of coral.
(Imagery of Nudity - Letter 2)
Letter 1
Translation of letter 1:
Sunday 26th July, 1806.
Dear diary,
It was a calm, summer evening when I met her, a mysterious creature roaming about a small aggregation of sea anemones and tending to the local clownfish. Her eyes met mine, a glowing pure white. Who is she? WHAT is she? I scan my surroundings and find a breathtaking array of colourful…rock ‘thingies’... sprouting from the sand. This place is vastly different from my birth town, where only grey, jagged rocks that reach to the surface decorate the area, often catching lost ships in their sharp clutches. The other sea nereids in my colony were killed in a vicious attack from vengeful sailors, which I barely managed to escape alive, leaving me to try and find another place to call home on my own. This new area looks habitable, but is it safe? Is this place a dream or a trick? Am I being lured by the beauty just for it to be another trap? Is this ‘thing’ here to finish the job and kill me? But for some reason, all I see when I gaze into her eyes is a glimmer of hope and life.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 2
Translation of letter 2:
Sunday 3rd August, 1806.
Dear diary,
Not long after scouting the creature out for a few days, she offered me refuge amongst her colony, despite not knowing me or where I came from. It’s as if she could sense that I needed help, and so I hastily accepted, still wary but slightly comforted by her welcome. Over the past few weeks, I’ve learnt a lot about her origins and purpose. She claims to be a coral nymph with the name Koralia, whose job is to provide a habitat and food to a vast array of marine life, alongside contributing many more benefits to the environment. The colourful beings I mistook for rocks are actually living organisms called corals, who provide more to the ecosystem than simply looking pretty. According to Greek mythology and Koralia’s vague memory of gaining consciousness, corals were formed by the solidification of her mother’s blood, the gorgon Medusa, as it spilled into the sea after her head was cut off by a demigod. Following this, coral was believed to be imbued with magic and protection, which isn’t too far from the truth from what I’ve seen and heard so far. I guess she’s not so scary after all.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 3
Translation of letter 3:
Wednesday 10th December, 1806.
Dear diary,
I’ve grown quite close to Koralia since I met her back in the summer, closer than I ever imagined I’d be with someone. She has broadened my view upon the world, helping me realise that there’s more to see and experience than I thought. This morning, she rode past our sleeping quarters on the resident manta rays, using them as a ‘creative’ way to wake me up from my deep slumber. My startled reaction was enough to make her laugh, and her smile shone brighter than any ray of sun that broke through the surface. I’ve never met anyone like her, there is a deity like beauty that radiates from her, as if she was blessed by Aphrodite herself. I find myself wanting to know more about her, to be beside her…to love her. Would she love me back? Who knows. I’m just certain that I can’t lose her.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 4
Translation of letter 4:
Thursday 30th April, 1807.
Dear diary,
Early April, we noticed an abundance of newly advanced ships that released trails of black smoke into the air. The noises produced by the hulls of the ships were loud enough to scare the fish away, meaning most of our marine life spent more time hiding than swimming about. The humans on board gave no regard to our home when disposing things overboard. As a result, loose fishing nets and barrels littered the seabed serving as traps for many unsuspecting fish, all of which we were luckily able to rescue. Not long after this began, a debilitating illness started spreading throughout the reef, infecting surrounding coral, including Koralia. The water felt slightly warmer than usual, and the currents became harsher, affecting even the strongest of our corals. The symptoms we have noticed so far were desaturated colouring with a bleached white spreading over the skeleton, reduced movement ability, and impaired growth. Despite also being ‘infected’, Koralia still continues to show strength and provide aid to the community, even protecting our resident seahorses from the currents during their mating season. However, I can see that, despite her brave demeanour and attempt at reassurance, she is struggling as much as the rest of the colony. I wish she would realise that sometimes the helpers need help too.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 5
Translation of letter 5:
Tuesday 5th May, 1807.
Dear diary,
Koralia’s health declined rapidly over a series of days as her skin continued to discolour and bleach. Even her once vibrant green hair had darkened into a murky brown. I rarely see her anymore as she hides below the rocks, distant and reserved. Her once infectious smile and laughter that echoed throughout the reef is gone, reduced to a pained frown and insufferable silence, no longer having the vitality that brought the colony to life. We have already lost a couple of our coral to this disease, and the misplaced guilt from being the guardian of this reef is eating away at the ill nymph. Time is running out and I am not sure what to do to heal her or stop the pain. I wish she would stop pushing me away.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 6
Translation of letter 6:
Friday 12th June, 1807.
Dear diary,
The evening of June 9th is when I found her body, as still as a statue, void of all the saturation that once decorated her skin. Fragments of her coral viscera were left broken and fragile, perhaps caused by the harsh currents or a clumsy fish. Her eyes lacked any emotion or acknowledgment. She was solely a shell of her former self. A few of the surrounding coral and seaweed had curled around her body like a blanket, either in a last attempt at saving her or an act of comfort in her last moments.
As I planted a kiss against her cold forehead, I realised that I am alone once again, destined to suffer through the same gruesome cycle of loss and grief. Despite only knowing her for less than a year, Koralia was my soulmate, and I do not think I will ever love another like I did her. How twisted fate has been as she suffered an ending akin to her mother’s curse.
Signed, (Unknown)
Letter 7
Translation of letter 7:
Monday 20th July, 1807.
To my dear Koralia,
This upcoming weekend marks our first anniversary, and the reality of your absence is beginning to creep in. I still see you in the manta rays that swim past at dawn, and although the memory of your face is starting to fade, I could never forget the impact of your presence on my life. I wish I was brave enough to tell you how I felt about you, though I think we managed to express it without words.
The remainder of the reef died out with you and could no longer sustain us, so we had to migrate further up north. It felt so wrong to leave you behind in that lifeless abyss, with only the ghosts as evidence of its once vibrant existence. I promise that I will try to spread awareness of what happened to our home to help make a change to this world so that no other reef suffers like you did. Thank you for being a part of my life and I hope that, if an afterlife exists, you are watching down on us in peace.
Signed, (Unknown)