Mo Ganji: Rice’s Whale | Rice-Wal | Balaenoptera ricei | No. 182/250 from work group 8/99

Mo Ganji brings into view the Rice’s whale — a large baleen whale restricted to deep waters of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico — by letting the single line search for core presence rather than scale or rarity. The line gathers the being into a reduced coherence, suspending monumentality and distance so that what appears is a concentrated sense of existence. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not claim the whale alone; it remains open, reminding us that every figure is also a human concept, provisionally attached to something far older and less defined.

Balaenoptera ricei is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Recognized as a distinct species only recently, Rice’s whale is endemic to the Gulf of Mexico and has one of the smallest ranges of any baleen whale. Current estimates suggest an extremely small population, likely fewer than one hundred individuals, making it among the most endangered whales on Earth.

The principal threats include vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, noise pollution from shipping and energy exploration, and habitat degradation. Because the species occupies a narrow and heavily industrialized marine region, exposure to human activity is constant. Low population size and slow reproductive rates further limit any capacity for recovery.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the whale can be encountered beyond immensity or scientific distinction. It allows attention to rest on a life unfolding within a confined stretch of ocean, suggesting how even the largest beings can be rendered fragile when movement, silence and depth are gradually negotiated away.