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Giant sea creature projected on iconic UN Headquarters turns heads

The UNHQ in New York lights up with images of marine species in an artistic call for climate action, global solidarity and harmony with nature (Images courtesy: Twitter/@UN)

As the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York fires into life, a two-fold art project by Superflex and Art 2030 is turning heads and drawing eyeballs, demanding attention to other life-forms.

The film 'Vertical Migration' was projected on the iconic United Nations building in New York on Wednesday as part of the first 'Interspecies Assembly' which features two public artworks.

The first is a gathering site marked by a series of pink stone sculptures engraved with a call-to-action from human visitors in Central Park. The site demarcates a space in which humans must temporarily slow down and actively listen to their co-species.

United Nations

The second artwork – a large scale filmwork projected onto the United Nations Headquarters – is inviting the first non-human delegation directly to the United Nations.

The dramatic, 505-foot (154-meter) video installation draws focus on a siphonophore: a symbol of the many working as one. Travelling from the depths of our oceans, the siphonophore is not a single animal but a colony of specialized marine organisms that work together to enhance group survival, and for this reason chosen specifically as the first delegation of the animal world to the Interspecies Assembly.

The filmwork will cover the entire north-facing marble facade of the United Nations signature 39-story tower, drawing attention to the consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change, while inviting humans to meet one of the many species we share our planet with.

"Our relationship with this planet has had an enormous impact on its ecosystem, to the extent that we may soon reach the end of our journey. But this also means growth, new exchanges, and, with rising sea levels, the vertical migration of different and new life forms. Perhaps we should see this as an opportunity to reimagine one end as a new beginning," says Superflex, a Copenhagen based artist group.

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