Ocean Artivism
Updated: Aug 5
28-year-old graffiti artist Julia Maldonado, from the island of Cozumel in the Gulf of Mexico, studied in Stockholm. I had seen her art somewhere and just instantly knew she would be the perfect artist for a wild idea.
We met, and my boat’s hull was offered to her as a canvas – with the condition to paint it only with a new toxic-free boat coating, available in only three colors: black, grey and orange. The reason was the climate statement sailing project 100% Sun Wind Water that started already in 2018. Inviting young people to experiment with alternative lifestyles under six missions: Trying to live 100% fossil fuel-free, toxic-free, zero waste, solar food, gender equal… and crown it with “ocean artivism”.
Julia jumped on the idea and created a masterpiece all the way down to the keel. We totally loved it! When Julia's design was ready, Covid was everywhere and traveling from Mexico impossible, so we projected her art onto the hull and painted it over here...with Julia on FaceTime over there.
Her artistic idea stems from diving around her childhood island: Bring today's reality from the deep ocean to the surface so people can see and learn from it. We, the people, tend to look at the beautiful blue ocean with excitement, while turning away from what we do under the surface - killing it with overfishing, dumping chemicals, trash, and wastewater into it, and topping all that off with intense sound pollution. Julia’s art pinpoints the fact that toxic coating painted on millions of underwater hulls along our coasts for decades has shown hazardous consequences on marine biodiversity.
"I was born and raised in a diving family and have
seen my childhood coral reefs disappear.
So, this artistic opportunity was very emotional
to me, and I chose to mirror my experiences
and the reality I've witnessed." PS: Six years later, we still think this is the world's first sailboat ever with art painted down to the keel:-) We might also be the first sailboat ever with a flourishing compost garden on the transom, but that's a story for later...
Art: Julia Maldonado Paint job: Guri Bigham and Bjorn B
Underwater photos: Alex Dawson
Diver: Linn Månson
//BB
Behind the scenes...
Spring 2020 – Julie was finalizing her art in ink in Mexico, Covid was roaring everywhere, and Guri and I were painting with toxic-free coating in Stockholm. We then sailed around the coast Stockholm-Oslo a few times, competed in races, and met with lots of people in lots of marinas. A few seasons later, in the fall, the boat was proudly exhibited at the Island of Light festival in Smögen and photographed by Alex Dawson, while brave diver Linn Månson acted as if the water was warmer than it was.
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