- Press Release
Greenpeace UK unveils new beachfront mural in global celebration as landmark Ocean Treaty enters into force
Photographs available: (UK images and world images)
This weekend in St Leonards-On-Sea, East Sussex, a striking new mural will be unveiled to celebrate a landmark moment for global ocean protection: the High Seas Treaty coming into force.
The colourful new artwork, twice the length of a double decker bus, is painted on the town’s beachside Bathing Hut Cafe. It puts St Leonards-On-Sea on the map as part of a global Greenpeace action in which artists, Indigenous Peoples, activists, and local communities from 13 countries across five continents representing every ocean, have joined Greenpeace to create ocean-protection-inspired street art to mark this major moment. Together, they celebrate the hard-won victory of the Treaty following two decades of campaigning.
Officially coming into force on January 17, the Treaty is the most important global environmental agreement since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. It also marks the beginning of a crucial four-year countdown to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. The Treaty gives governments the legal tools to protect large areas of the high seas for the first time. These will help mitigate the climate crisis, halt biodiversity collapse, and safeguard food security for the billions of people who depend on the ocean.
The UK artwork, by Bristol-based artist, Richt, features a message in a bottle addressed to the UK government. It has sunk to the ocean floor, visible among a host of beautiful ocean creatures including a turtle, an angelfish and an oyster, the latter a symbol of hidden value and uncertainty. It’s a call to action for the UK government to urgently complete signing the High Seas Treaty into law. 81 nations including France, Spain, China, Japan, Mexico and Brazil have already done so.
UK artist, Richt, said:
“For as long as I can remember, Greenpeace has amplified powerful campaigns alongside artists for the world’s most pressing issues. When I was younger, my family instilled in us just how lucky we were to live by the sea. I remember people saying that to me all the time, and I think that proximity teaches a respect for the environment, the moors and the coastline.
“I’m really proud to be a part of this long tradition for Greenpeace in support of the Global Ocean Treaty. The focus of the work is a message in a bottle, widely understood as an act of desperation and devotion; thrown into the sea in the hope of finding help before it’s too late. Often, news about the environment is paired with the language of “last chance”. In the case of the Treaty, that last chance is being held up by red tape.”
Chris Thorne, senior oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK said:
“The Oceans Treaty enables governments to protect large areas of the high seas for the first time. It fires the starting gun on a four-year race to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030 – the minimum scientists say is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, stabilise the climate and safeguard food security for billions of people.
“But while communities around the world are celebrating, the UK government – yet to pass the Treaty into UK law – is holding us back. This powerful beachside mural by Richt captures both the hope and urgency of the moment.
“A constellation of ocean sanctuaries where marine life, from colourful corals to majestic whales, can thrive is within reach. But we will only get there if the UK signs the Treaty into law and puts forward ambitious proposals to protect vast areas of the ocean, including the Sargasso Sea and other parts of the Atlantic. There’s no time to waste.”
The mural will now be turned into a digital postcard for people to send directly to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the UK minister responsible for the Treaty. This will ensure she hears the message loud and clear even if she cannot see the mural in person.
Currently 0.9% of the High Seas is fully or highly protected. Closing the High Seas protection gap from under 1% as it is currently, to 30% in just four years will require governments to protect areas of the ocean larger than entire continents faster than any conservation effort in history.
Photographs of Richt’s artwork in St Leonards and the other murals all around the world are available here.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Emerging from the UK Graffiti scene under the moniker ‘Richt’, the artist has been exploring creativity through original work, design, animation and on street pieces for the past 20 years. Originally from north Devon and now based in Bristol, his projects range from Academy Award winning film studio Aardman Animations, to global powerhouse Vans. The artist also considers a social responsibility to young people, hosting talks and workshops in schools and with youth groups across the world. His solo exhibitions include Barcelona, Amsterdam and London with public art projects and commissions from Eastern Europe and Northern Asia to the USA.
Among the ocean flora and wildlife in this new mural, Richt has included visual motifs that recur throughout his work. One of these is the oyster: a symbol of hidden value and uncertainty, drawn from Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter. The Victorian poem tells the story of the young oysters, offered the illusion of choice while their fate is sealed regardless. This is about more than just the ocean, it’s about systems of power: what is protected, what is exploited, and what is ultimately sacrificed.
Richt’s website https://www.richtstudio.com/
Richt’s Instagram profile https://www.instagram.com/richtpaint/
- The full list of countries participating are: Slovenia, Austria, The Philippines, Mexico, Mauritius, Senegal, Germany, Australia, the UK, Japan, Canada, The Netherlands, and the USA.