Como exhibits ‘Art to Save the Sea’ sculptures made from beach debris

“Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea,” a massive, colorful, traveling art exhibit is now showing at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.

The Washed Ashore exhibit features giant sea life sculptures made entirely of marine debris collected from beaches to graphically illustrate the plastic pollution found in our oceans and waterways.

Photo right: “Priscilla,” a sixteen foot long Parrot Fish, is a sculpture created from trash collected on the ocean’s beaches. (Photo provided)

The artwork will be combined with scientifically based educational signage to teach visitors about ocean stewardship, responsible consumer habits and how every action counts to help save our seas.

Como will be home to several pieces, including ”Hugo,” a nine-foot-tall whale tail, and “Priscilla,” a sixteen foot long Parrot Fish, both made out of plastic toys, buoys, toothbrushes drink bottles, bottle caps, flip-flop cut-outs, hair brushes, and other plastic garbage picked up on beaches.

The exhibit offers Como’s visitors a powerful, visual reality of the proliferation of plastic pollution in the world’s waterways through representations of marine animals using thousands of pieces of plastic in every color of the rainbow.

Photo left: ”Hugo,” a nine-foot-tall whale tail sculpture is part of “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” at Como Park through Oct. 21. (Photo provided)

Washed Ashore is an environmental education project that uses art to raise awareness to the tragedy of plastic pollution in the oceans through community involvement. It has taken thousands of volunteers and tons of marine debris to create the monumental sculptures that now make up the Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea exhibit.

“Washed Ashore encourages conservation by inspiring guests to be part of the solution to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle,” said Michelle Furrer, Como Park Zoo & Conservatory Director. “With this exhibit, we hope to educate and motivate our guests to learn more about the dire issue of pollution in our waterways.”

The Washed Ashore exhibit is free and will run through Oct. 21.