Totem built using debris from Japan tsunami by B.C. artist

In the year since an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's Pacific coast, cameras have tracked a "mountain" of floating debris headed toward British Columbia's western coast.

News reports have documented the efforts of Tofino, B.C. residents who have already started clearing away what they believe to be the first wave of material goods — everything from plastic drink bottles and lumber to sports equipment has washed up on the shore near Vancouver Island.

While a few are motivated to restore these items to their original owners, most of the debris will likely find its way into a dump.

But, as the Globe and Mail reports, a Tofino artist has discovered a more constructive use for these objects.

Since he arrived on Vancouver Island in 1998, Peter Clarkson has fashioned sculptures from the garbage that washes up along the beach.

Five years ago, Clarkson began building a seven-metre-tall totem pole with what ultimately constitutes ocean trash: crab traps, rope, and even fishing boats are all materials that make up his new take on an old aboriginal cultural symbol.

So when the remnants of what he believed to be debris from the Japan earthquake started washing up ashore, the 53-year-old Parks Canada employee discovered a new dimension to his project.

Using the floats, barrels, and Styrofoam with Japanese writing that he rescued from the water, Clarkson decided to link his totem to Japan, the First Nations and non-First Nations cultures and to raise awareness about the increasing levels of garbage that are washing up near his community.

"Living on the ocean and seeing these items wash ashore, it constantly reminds you that we all share the ocean, and it really makes a very real link between all the communities that live along the ocean," he told the Globe, adding that he was motivated to finish the project after learning about the disaster.

"As it happens, you know, the final couple pieces showed up on shore after the tsunami event here. Those were kind of the missing pieces I needed to finish the work," he said.

Though it's finally complete, the still-unnamed totem lies in pieces in Clarkson's backyard where it's waiting for a galvanized piece of recycled fence rail to tie it all together.

In the meantime, Japan's deputy consul general in Vancouver is cautioning Canadians about immediately linking the debris to the tsunami. Kinji Shinoda told the paper that many Canadians — including major media outlets — have confused Chinese characters for Japanese ones, and that only 1.5 million out of the 20 million tonnes of debris that ended up in the Pacific is still floating. The rest, according to a report from Japan's environmental ministry, has already started its descent toward the bottom of the ocean.

Much of the debris is not expected to hit B.C. until October, he said.

"I really would like to know what kind of debris he or she collected," Shinoda added. "This is a very important thing not only for Japan but for other countries as well."

Clarkson, however, has expressed a desire to take his totem to Japan in a gesture designed to stimulate cross-cultural relations.