Fore the Waves

Artist and ocean scientist Ethan Estess of Countercurrrent is teaming up with The Plastic Pickup for a new public art installation to raise awareness about plastic ocean pollution! Alex Weber, director of The Plastic Pickup, has been collecting golf balls from the waters off Pebble Beach since she was 16 years old, and has amassed an incredible stockpile of 50,000 golf balls. Alex reached out to Countercurrent to design and fabricate a large-scale wave sculpture from over 20,000 of these balls!

As part of the Plastic Free Pipeline Project in 2018, Ethan teamed up with Jack, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, Kokua Hawaii Foundation, and WSL Pure to create a large sculpture of Banzai Pipeline from plastic pollution, fishing nets and reclaimed lumber. The sculpture was on display at the Pipe Masters event and engaged thousands of local students, surfers, and community members. This new sculpture made out of golf balls will help to build the wave of momentum to inspire action through art.

Alex and Ethan launched a Fore the Ocean Go Fund Me Campaign on Earth Day to raise funds for the project, which showcases the power of art to drive scientific messages. The sculpture, once completed, will be brought to multiple events, including surf contests and music festivals, to raise awareness about plastic waste reduction.