The Exhibit

Project Ocean Sole takes guests on a journey through the world's oceans — from the shoreline to the deep sea to the ends of the earth — uncovering how plastics pollution threatens every habitat along the way. And at the center of it all: the story of Ocean Sole, a group of people in Kenya who decided to do something about it.

Overview

  • 50+ Upcycled Sea Life Sculptures

  • 12 storytelling stations

  • Complete Signage

  • Audio & Video

  • 3200 Square feet

Station 01

Intro: We are Ocean Sole

An introduction to the people behind Ocean Sole, presented through working portraits in a series of lightboxes.

Guest takeaway: This is a human story, with real people behind it.

  • Lightboxes mounted on wooden cabinets

  • Documentary photos of Ocean Sole’s work in Kenya

Details

  • We are Ocean Sole.

    We clean beaches and rivers.

    We upcycle discarded flip-flops.

    We create art.

    We hope you love it.

Station 02

The 100 Million Ton Problem

Introduces the problem of plastics pollution and its huge scale. Makes the problem concrete by visualizing flip-flops and other plastics on a beach.

Guest takeaway: Plastics is a global, massive scale problem.

  • Batu (corrugated metal) staging— inspired by Kenyan materials

  • Features actual flip -flops recovered by Ocean Sole

  • Sound Design: Crashing wave sfx

Details

  • The 100 Million Ton Problem.

    There are somewhere between 75 and 200 million tons. of plastic in our oceans.

    Beach litter, like these flip-flops, is one big source.

    What can people do about such a massive problem?

Station 03

Eureka

The first large-scale sculpture guests encounter: three dolphins crashing out of the waves, paired with Ocean Sole's eureka idea — Flip Trash into Art.

Guest takeaway: New ideas, from regular people, can emerge and change the world

  • Metal waves art by The Conservation Studio

  • Flipping sign illustrates the idea of transforming trash into art

  • Sound Design: Radio Kenya

Details

  • A Big Idea

    Flip Trash

    Into Art

Station 04

The Upcycling Workshop

A replica of a portion of Ocean Sole's workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

Guest takeaway: Conservation and solving big problems is hands-on, hard work — but it can be joyful!

  • Features a video wall showing Ocean Sole’s artisans at work

  • In-progress sculptures in various stages of completion — lions, dolphins

  • Sound Design: Radio Kenya + Shop SFX

Details

  • Destination: Kenya

    Welcome to the Upcycling Workshop

    Flip-flop Artisans at work

    Hand Carved

    1m+ lbs of flip-flops processed every year

    Made with Love in Kenya

Station 05

Defend the Shore

A menacing crew of crabs is taking a stand here, where the land meets the sea.

Guest takeaway: What humans do on land is how plastics make their way into our oceans.

  • 2 Giant crab sculptures, many small crabs

  • Sound Design: Harbor sounds

Details

  • Defend the Shore

    The Problem Starts Here

    Things people do on land — big and small, from manufacturing to littering — put plastics into the seas.

Station 06

Turtles in Trouble

Encounter a flotilla of sea turtles crusing through the seas, in search of a jellyfish snack—or is it plastic they’ll find?

Guest takeaway: Even gentle voyagers like sea turtles are harmed by plastics pollution.

  • 1 extra large sea turtle, 6 large sea turtles

  • Turtles are mounted on metal stands to float above the floor

Details

  • Jellyfish or Plastic?

Station 07

Bad Plastics

Uncover the sources of plastics pollution.

Guest takeaway: Plastics pollution doesn’t just happen — it’s caused by human actions.

  • Flip-flop shavings underscore the idea of plastic particles floating in the seas

Details

  • Bad Plastics

    Litter

Station 08

Don’t Ruin Our Reef

A Great Barrier Reef-like environment featuring many species in “the rainforest of the sea”

Guest takeaway: Plastic affects reefs — a critical ecosystem — in many negative ways.

  • Batu reef inspired by local Kenyan building materials

  • Metal coral sculptures built by The Conservation Studio

  • Hammerheads hang from overhead

Details

  • Don’t ruin our reef

    The Rainforest of the sea

    Coral reefs, like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, are home to a huge number of species. They’re a crucial, biodiverse ocean habitat.

    Stop throwing shade

    Phytoplankton–an important food source for coral– turn sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. Plastic pollution shades the seas, starving phyloplankton.

    Pollution makes me sick

    Plastic floating around the seas can serve as a vector for disease, spreading it from one coral reef to another.

Station 09

Save the Sharks

A shark, its food chain, and the plastic in it.

Guest takeaway: Even sharks — fierce predators — are not invincible from plastics.

  • Shark, barracuda, assorted fish

Details

  • Save the Sharks

    Plastic pollutes the ocean’s food chain from bottom to top

    Litter

    Litter and poor waste management practices can lead to trash from our homes ending up in our oceans.

    Microplastics

    Microplastics are tiny-but-dangerous plastics that get into the seas from consumer products like cosmetics and clothing.

    Industrial Byproducts

    When factories flush plastic waste, illegally or in poorly regulated countries, it can make its way into the ocean.

Station 10

North Pole / South Pole

Step into an arctic/antarctic environment inhabited by a massive walrus, narwhal, and penguins. Even here, at the ends of the earth, plastics reach.

Guest takeaway: Water connects the world. Your local actions can make for a better ocean future.

  • The walrus is the largest of the sculptures.

  • Narwhal and penguins

Details

  • Even here, at the North & South poles, the very ends of the earth, plastics have been found in the snow and sea ice.

    Ocean Sole cleans up local shores. But their art brings attention to a global problem.

    No matter where you live, your actions — and your big ideas — can make for a better ocean future.

    How will you make things better for the ocean and the life that inhabits it?

Station 11

Ocean Sole: Impact

Ocean Sole isn’t just a conservation project — it’s a social enterprise and amachine for social good.

Guest takeaway: Water connects the world. Your local actions can make for a better ocean future.

  • Portraits and lightboxes

Details

  • A Social Enterprise

    Over 100 meaningful jobs

    Food, Healthcare & Education

    Helping Habitats & Sea Life

Station 12

The Big Idea Station

A chance to do some thinking, writing, and drawing. Share your big idea for helping the oceans, and see other guests ideas.

Guest takeaway: You too can have ideas that can change the world.

  • Portraits and lightboxes

Details

  • The Ocean needs big ideas-What’s yours?

    Show us your better ocean future

    —

    How to help Ocean Sole

    Reuse & Recycle

    Find ways to reuse and recycle in your own life

    Never litter

    Pick up after yourself after beach and river outings

    Buy the art

    4

    Reuse & Recycle

    Find ways to reuse and recycle in your own life

    Spread the Story

    Share your photos and tag @oceansole

    Buy the Art

    Support their work and help them employ more Kenyans