FORE THE WAVES
Ethan Estess' nonprofit Countercurrent and nonprofit the Plastic Pickup partnered on a public art project “Fore the Waves”: a 26ft x 8ft x 8ft interactive/portable wave sculpture made from over 20,000 golf balls collected from the seafloor off Pebble Beach, CA.
Then-high school student Alex Weber led the collection effort and published a scientific study with Hopkins Marine Station and Stanford researchers demonstrating that they break up in the surf zone, releasing their microplastic cores that can contain seriously toxic additives such as zinc acrylate.
As a result of this teen-led cleanup effort, NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries and Pebble Beach Golf Course have designed a formal protocol involving over 200 underwater cleanups for the next 5 years to continue to collect the 2-5 million more balls that are thought to be offshore of the Pebble Beach coastline. Our goal with this mobile art installation is to expand the adoption of this cleanup protocol to coastal golf courses globally, while highlighting the power of individuals (young and old) to make a positive impact on their local ecosystem.
Of course #plasticpollution is bigger than golf balls, but we’re excited that this sculpture will lead to far-reaching conversations that inspire people to think about the unintended impacts our actions can have on the ocean environment.
The sculpture toured up and down the coast of California to surf contests, large music festivals, schools, and corporate events.
Then-high school student Alex Weber led the collection effort and published a scientific study with Hopkins Marine Station and Stanford researchers demonstrating that they break up in the surf zone, releasing their microplastic cores that can contain seriously toxic additives such as zinc acrylate.
As a result of this teen-led cleanup effort, NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries and Pebble Beach Golf Course have designed a formal protocol involving over 200 underwater cleanups for the next 5 years to continue to collect the 2-5 million more balls that are thought to be offshore of the Pebble Beach coastline. Our goal with this mobile art installation is to expand the adoption of this cleanup protocol to coastal golf courses globally, while highlighting the power of individuals (young and old) to make a positive impact on their local ecosystem.
Of course #plasticpollution is bigger than golf balls, but we’re excited that this sculpture will lead to far-reaching conversations that inspire people to think about the unintended impacts our actions can have on the ocean environment.
The sculpture toured up and down the coast of California to surf contests, large music festivals, schools, and corporate events.