Outcry of the deep in London

London takes a determined step towards issues that trouble the world. Every time… besides the times the city’s political hub wants to kowtow to the Americans, I’d add. This isn’t an analysis of the political hues that often submerge the city’s features. This essay is about an issue that jumps out of the water into our consciousness. Some may choose to define the theme as offshore echoes, but the massive whale displayed in Canary Wharf in London this month in 2025, is an outcry of the deep. Our plastic legacy, so to say.

The monumental public art installation is a four-storey-tall blue whale sculpture named ‘Whale on the Wharf’ and aims to give an unequivocal reminder of the approximately 150 million tonnes of plastic waste polluting our oceans, now outweighing the whale population. StudioKCA, based in New York, has conceptualized and designed the sculpture. Holcim from UK developed the sustainable concrete mix, and DiveCo marine Limited managed the underwater installation. Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang are the New York based artist-architect who collaborated with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund to collect five tonnes of plastic waste from Hawaiian beaches to construct the intricate mosaic that forms the whale.

We were in Canary Wharf a couple of days back and were busy locating the giant Easter Eggs in the area when this massive whale made of plastic waste took our breath away. There were a few other tourists who, like us, had stumbled upon this gigantic artwork and stood wondering whether to call it art or activism… well, their expression seemed to communicate something like this. Not everyone may agree to applaud its aesthetic appeal but then, as the info displayed there expressed, the core purpose was to provoke thought and inspire action regarding ocean pollution and sustainability. On reading the details there, we agreed that the installation was indeed a compelling piece of art and a powerful statement on environmental responsibility.

Talking of sustainability, the ‘Whale on the Wharf’ isn’t just about the use of five tonnes of plastic waste. It is also about the use of waste coffee grounds collected from Canary Wharf coffee shops ‘to produce a new material that supplement the sand and fine aggregates used in concrete to form the base for the sculpture. An interesting trivia mentioned on the information board at the sculpture said that Canary Wharf processes nearly 190 tonnes of spent coffee grounds each year which was equivalent to the weight of approximately sixteen double decker buses of London.

What matter more is that this up-scaling of waste materials showcases the serious intent of the London administrators and politicians  to reduce waste and to promote eco-friendly practices. London and Londoners probably agree with Klimoski and Chang who had remarked, ‘A whale is the largest mammal in the water, and it felt like the right form to take in order to show the scope and scale of the problem.’ Lowri Harries, Associate Curator at Canary Wharf Group, has called this installation ‘thought-provoking and impactful’ and believes this one can be a part of their permanent public art collection.

To us, as tourists here, London has yet again scored a victory over minds… and this is what helps people remain in love with the city.
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Arvind Passey
Uploaded on 17 April 2025
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