By Flora Awinja
At the heart of Diani, a popular Kenyan-based world destination in Kwale county, is a plastic sculpture of a big sea wave purely made from plastic bottles.
The sculpture adds beauty to the already well-decorated Diani town and steals the attention of many residents and visitors visiting Diani after a long time.
The sculpture which is set to be a landmark is being hailed as a new artistic expression in the region.
The sheer amount of work and clockwork precision that went into its construction is mindboggling.
The structure has taken a place of pride as the most appealing artwork.
It is made of 7000 recycled plastic bottles to create awareness of sea pollution.
The bottles were carefully moulded to a sculpture dubbed sea change.
It is shaped like a sea wave to illustrate the harm that is caused to the environment by plastic waste.
The plastics were cut and held together using wires.
It is more than 5 fit tall and placed at the Beach Road junction in Ukunda along the Mombasa Lunga-Lunga highway.
“We want to create awareness on sea pollution not only to the tourists but also residents,” said Jeanne Shin the US-based artist.
Shin said the effects of climate change keep on wreaking havoc hence the need to raise awareness of environmental pollution.
She said the ocean is grappling with plastic waste and the public must be held responsible.
“People should take individual responsibility in conserving the environment and know the dangers of poorly disposing of plastic waste,” she said.
Environment enthusiasts decried that plastic littering is a major problem and is causing more environmental annihilation.
She said it takes a lifetime for plastic waste to wear down which is hazardous to marine life and human beings.
Shin built the sea wave art sculpture in partnership with a local organization called The Health and Environment Research Initiative(HERI) which seeks to improve the livelihoods of the coast residents through science research and conservation.
Kenya has invested heavily in both policies and law enforcement to win the fight against plastic pollution.
