SEATTLE — With a frenzy of final paint strokes Wednesday morning, Seattle became home to two of the largest outdoor murals in North America.
The larger-than-life paintings near Pike Place Market were unveiled during a ceremony overlooking Elliott Bay in honor of the United Nations’ World Environment Day.
Under searing spring sun and soaring seagulls, enormous depictions of a sea hawk, a sea otter and a harbor seal flanked by watery blue buildings stared back at onlookers from the formerly drab concrete exteriors of three buildings on Elliott Way facing Pike Place Market. Painted by artist Victor Ash, the mural measures 775 feet wide by 55 feet tall, or about as large as a 77-story building on its side, said Thibault Decker, co-founder of New York City-based nonprofit Street Art for Mankind.
Ash’s massive, triptych-style mural is splashed across the backs of three buildings, which make up Waterfront Landings Condominium.
On Bell Street between Elliott and Western avenues, on the back wall of Elliott Pointe Apartments and four blocks northwest of Ash’s mural, loomed a second painting by artist Adry del Rocio depicting a child embracing a humpback whale and petting an orca, surrounded by a swirling school of vibrant fish.
The paintings, curated by Street Art for Mankind, are meant to encourage people to appreciate and protect the ecosystem as it faces challenges from climate change and pollution, said Mayor Bruce Harrell.
“These murals are symbolic of what we’re trying to be, who we’re trying to be,” Harrell said, pointing to Seattle’s planting of over 2,000 trees last year. “This is more than symbolism — this is a demonstration of our values as a community.”
The unveiling ceremony, at the site of the Elliott Way mural, also celebrated the U.N. recognizing Seattle as the country’s sole “role model city” for its efforts to restore the ecosystem. Seattle is also among 19 cities worldwide in the U.N.’s “Generation Restoration,” a two-year initiative for sharing best practices for protecting nature in urban spaces.
Del Rocio said she put down her tools at 9 a.m. and barely had enough time to take off her painter’s coat before making it to Wednesday’s ceremony at 10 a.m. Paint splattered on her shoes, leggings and fingernails matched the bright colors of her mural, which she said she finished in just 14 days — nine of which were spent in the rain and blustering winds.
The rush was worth it to create a visual reminder of the beauty and importance of the natural world, she said.
“The sea is very important, and most of the time we forget about it,” she said. “If one creature dies, the whole ecosystem is damaged.”
