Five tons of plastic waste has been pulled from the oceans and transformed into the Bruges Whale, a gigantic sculpture that highlights the staggering amount of trash floating in our oceans. Designed by Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of the Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary practice StudioKCA, this massive environmental artwork was created for the 2018 Bruges Triennial with the theme of “Liquid City.” The Bruges Whale, also called the Skyscraper, was positioned to appear in mid-breach in a canal opposite the city’s iconic Jan Van Eyck statue.
Installed in the UNESCO World Heritage City Center of Bruges, the Bruges Whale was created to draw attention to the unrelenting flow of plastic waste into our oceans — with an estimated eight million tons added every year. Teaming up with Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Surfrider Foundation, StudioKCA collected more than 5 tons of plastic waste from the ocean in four months. After cleaning and sorting the trash, the team also launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring the project to life and to fund fabrication of the steel and aluminum structural system created in collaboration with Thornton Tomasetti.
“Skyscraper is a physical example of why we need to change how we use and dispose of plastic in the world today,” said Lesley Chang, Principal of StudioKCA. Principal Jason Klimoski continues, “[The sculpture] is 5 tons of plastic waste that we’ve pulled out of the ocean to create a four-story tall whale to help raise awareness about the other 150 million tons of plastic waste still swimming in our oceans. The more people know about a problem, the better, as it takes all of us working together to change the way things are done. This is a real opportunity to help bring awareness to a large audience about this global issue.”
Related: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is growing at an exponential rate
Located in the historic Jan Van Eyck Square, the Bruges Whale is one of 14 other installations selected for the 2018 Bruges Triennial, a free event that’s expected to welcome more than two million people. The art and architecture event is held from May 5 to September 16, 2018.
Images via StudioKCA
