Keith Richards, Rita Ora, Dustin Yellin, and More Sell Sculptures to Save the Sea

In a huge push to raise funds for ocean research and preservation, 50+ artists and creatives are turning New York City into an outdoor art gallery by creating and auctioning unique public sculptures in the shape of waves.

A hefty list of artists and celebrities leant their time to the cause including Dustin Yellin, Zoe Buckman, Julian Schnabel, Keith Richards, Slash, Rita Ora, Jason deCaires Taylor, Liu Bolin, PEJAC, Baron von Fancy, Michael DeFeo, and Bruce Weber. Each created a unique variation on a wave, some working with a design studio called 3Di to execute their ideas. The final products will be installed throughout the five boroughs—find the ones near you on this interactive map—for the month-long La Mer Wave Walk.

Dustin Yellin

“I live on the sea, I come from the sea and I will return to the sea,” Yellin, who works out of a waterfront studio in Red Hook, tells Creators. “As humans it is our responsibility to do everything within our capacity to protect our oceans and everything inside of them. As above is below and as floats, sinks and floats, sinks and floats.”

The money raised from these sculptures goes to La Mer’s Blue Heart Ocean Fund and Project 0, a group whose stated goals are to “Put 30% of the ocean under protection by 2030, rebuild coral reefs and mangrove forests, clean up the ocean, restore fisheries, [and] fund innovative projects that protect and restore the ocean.” Project 0 is patronized by Mick Jagger’s fourth child, Jimmy Jagger, who was involved in curating the talent for the Wave Walk.

Michael De Feo

According to Karen Sack of Ocean Unite, also a representative of Project 0, the money raised in the Wave Walk will benefit three ocean basins. Coordinating with the Waitt Foundation, an initiative will be funded to create more protected areas in the highly biodiverse Azores, a Portuguese volcanic archipelago in the in the mid-north Atlantic which hosts migrating whales and dolphins.

The charities will also team up with the University of Hong Kong, the University of British Columbia, and The ADM Capital Foundation to measure the extent to which the East China Sea has been overfished. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” says Sack.

Baron von Fancy

The third area is the Eastern Caribbean, where the organizations will help equip a conservancy to regrow mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral.

The waves will be auctioned off on the online bidding platform Paddle8 from May 20–June 23, with a select group going to Sotheby’s on June 21. Check out a selection of the waves below.

Jason DeCaires Taylor

Keith Richards

Rita Ora

Bruce Weber

Slash

Cara Delevingne

Bernard Fowler

Bidding on the waves is now open on Paddle8. Learn more about Project 0 here and the La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund here.

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