What does imperfect environmentalism look like to you?

At Ocean Generation, we recognise that the world doesn’t need a handful of perfect environmentalists. Our Ocean – our planet – needs millions of imperfect people, taking daily action, learning as they go and always striving to do better.  

We set a creative challenge for university students: Create something that embodies imperfect environmentalism.

It was April 2024 and our Youth Engagement Lead, Gemma, was in Bournemouth, UK to launch an exciting project with the AUB Futures Team at the Arts University Bournemouth.  

First, she delivered a bespoke Wavemaker workshop to the students. 

“Building an Ocean Intelligent Creative Business or Practice” was specifically aimed at the array of emerging artists studying at AUB. Focusing on case studies of visual and performing artists who have responded to the threats facing our Ocean through creativity, we then set the students a challenge. 

The brief: Create artwork that highlights what “imperfect environmentalism” means to you. 

We had submissions from a wide variety of artists. Painters, photographers and others working with textiles and illustration.  

A panel of judges from Ocean Generation and AUB decided on an overall winner – the artist who responded to the brief most effectively. But we were so impressed with the submissions that we wanted to offer some of them other opportunities as well.  

Here’s the winning art, and the artists behind it:

From fashion to an entire illustrated storybook and thought-provoking posters, here’s a look at some of the submissions we received. 

1. A costume made entirely of discarded plastic. 

Our overall winner was Beverley Baker, who created a beautiful costume to raise awareness about pollution in our Ocean. We had a little chat with Beverley about her work and how she was inspired to create this design of the AUB Green Futures Live Brief.   

Beverley, who are you and what are you studying? 

Beverley: I’m a multi-disciplined artist creating between Somerset and Arts University Bournemouth where I’ve just completed my second year studying Performance Design and Film Costume.  

I am exploring costume and set design for film and theatre and I also keep up my fine art practice alongside my studies, enjoying primarily self-portraiture as well as traditional painting and drawing in a mixed media style. I’m passionate about details and colour, utilising colour theory to tell stories. 

Do you remember the first time you saw the Ocean? 

Beverly: I don’t remember the first time, probably because in Somerset, UK where I grew up I was relatively close to the coast so lucky enough to see the Ocean often.  

My family and I would visit places like Lyme Regis, Kilve, Weston-Super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea and Brean, all beautiful beaches of the South West of England.

“As a child the Ocean felt magical, it seemed like it went on forever and made me feel I was the only one in the world just for a second – the coast felt made-up, like I’d just walked into a book.“

What inspired you to create this piece for the AUB Green Futures Brief with Ocean Generation? 

Beverly: Alongside 7 team members for the second project of second year, our group was briefed by SISATA, an outdoor theatre company, to create a ‘Mercreature’ costume each for a touring production of Peter Pan twisted to fit the folklore of Portland, Dorset.   

Inspired by oil spills and the presence of micro-plastics in our seas, my costume loosely takes the shape of the ‘Veasta’, a half fish half seahorse creature that is said to lurk off the coasts of Dorset.

A visit to Portland influenced the textures and techniques I used, incorporating 15 techniques: free machine embroidery, hand embroidery, tie-dye, dip-dye, applique, reverse applique, trapunto, form-fixing, finger knitting, puff binder, foiling, batik, heat gun, eyeleting and hand painting. 

What is the number one thing you wish everyone knew about the Ocean? 

Beverly: Less than 5% of the world’s Ocean is protected which needs drastic change right now; many human-made problems have impacted the Ocean including coral reef bleaching, oil spills and plastic pollution. I think many people are unaware of the impact of the fishing industry; discarded fishing gear makes up a significant proportion of Ocean pollution. 

Find out more about Beverley’s work here.  

Watch: How we bring our Ocean education workshops to students, during design challenges like these 

2. An illustrated storybook teaching children about the importance of the Ocean. 

One of the submissions to the AUB Green Futures Brief really felt like it had a story to tell, and so we asked Dala to work with us on generating a Wavemaker Story about his submission.  

Empowered by our Wavemaker Workshop, Dala illustrated a storybook about how our actions can change the world. Dala’s story, written for children, explores the moment when someone comes along and says ‘Hey, this isn’t right. We need to do better.’ 

Read Dala’s Wavemaker Story and download the book here.   

3. Two impactful posters, now incorporated into our workshops, will go on to educate hundreds of young people 

Finally, we had a very interesting submission that we decided to do something a little different with.  

Lucy Coble (they/them) is a non-binary designer and illustrator based in Bournemouth, UK. They are passionate about creating work that leaves a lasting impression, and love to work with like-minded creatives. Lucy’s interests lie in LGBTQIA+ advocacy, advertisement work and illustration aimed at a young adult audience. They have worked with clients such as Scribbler UK, the Plum Agency and many other independent projects. 

For this brief, Lucy submitted two illustrations:  a pair of hermit crabs using mismatched items as shells – one a soda can and the other a teapot.  

These designs were centred around the idea of taking the initiative in recycling and reusing items we might consider waste – actively taking responsibility for recycling, reusing and re-loving old items is essential for helping the Ocean heal. 

Through their work, Lucy asks us to consider charity shops and donation bins. The idea for these images came to them during their own house move last year, where they spent an entire day back and forth on the bus with bags and bags of clothes to donate that simply didn’t fit or that they’d never worn. 

“So much of our waste is items that could have been recycled or perfectly good stuff someone else might have loved!”  

Lucy’s work will now be used as a case study of how to create a great visual campaign in our visual arts and “How to be an Ocean Storyteller” Wavemaker Workshops.  

Find out more about Lucy and their work here.   

Book Ocean Generation to deliver a project like this  

We offer live briefs in various creative pursuits across the UK, from illustration to theatre and filmmaking to game design.

If you are interested in bringing an experience like this one to your college, university or youth group, please get in touch here.

Behind our Ocean-themed design challenge for illustration students 

It was March 2024. Our Youth Engagement Lead, Gemma, was standing in front of 45 MA Illustration students at the University of Edinburgh – and she had a challenge for them. 

The challenge? Soak up the Ocean science she’d be delivering in our Wavemaker workshop and then, bring it to life through new designs for our sustainable apparel store, inspired by the Ocean.  

Live design brief meets Ocean conservation 

The Live Design Brief – created in consultation with the Illustration Programme Director, Amy – asked the students to ‘re-introduce the Ocean’ to the Ocean Generation community. 

The challenge provided the students tangible substance of what it means to be strategically creative, meet the requirements of a live client brief and deliver a project that’d be used in the real world. 

What started as an educational Wavemaker workshop resulted in a collection of sustainable clothing inspired by the Ocean – designed by students.  

The students had the opportunity to engage with Ocean Generation at multiple points along their design journey; reflecting the client relationship they’d have when working in the industry.  

How the Wavemaker collection came to life 

STEP 1: Students participated in our Wavemaker Workshop and learned more about the Ocean. 

STEP 2: Gemma and Amy (MA Illustration Programme Director) led an ideation session to get creativity flowing. 

STEP 3: Students pitched initial ideas to Gemma and Amy. 

STEP 4: Students submitted their first drafts for feedback from the Ocean Generation Team. This allowed for client feedback, concept iteration, and facilitated project management skill-building.  

We were so impressed with their initial sketches. Many of the students had done extra research around the Ocean, to inform their work. 

STEP 5: Students submitted final designs to be used on sustainable clothing inspired by the Ocean. 

STEP 6: The most difficult job yet – choosing the winners!  

What did the students learn before designing the collection?  

Why is the Ocean important?

Students learnt about the importance of our Ocean: How it provides us with every second breath we take, covers 70% of our blue planet and gives us the fundamental resources we need to survive. 

We discussed 5 Ocean Threats caused by human action. Think climate change, pollution, coastal infrastructure development, resource extraction and daily Ocean use. And zoomed in on the problem of plastic pollution. We explored incredible Ocean solutions that brilliant Wavemakers across the world have come up with, to help tackle pollution. 

We also talked about some of the amazing creatures in our Ocean and what they provide our world with. For example, whale falls.  

What is a whale fall?

A whale-fall is another name for the death of a whale. Soon after a whale dies, it sinks to the Ocean floor. It provides an essential marine ecosystem as other animals feed on the remains. 

Over 21 marine animals rely on whale-falls to survive. The incredible contribution of whales served as inspiration for two of the final designs are now featured in our Ocean-themed clothing store.  

What stories inspired the sustainable collection?

Gemma had some interesting discussions with students as they developed their designs. 

One of our whale-fall designers, Jingyuan Liu, told us how her design was inspired by the news of a whale mother passing away and her calf using its body to hold up its mother and prevent her from sinking.

This really highlighted the connection between humans and Ocean creatures – each caring for each other, and experiencing grief for our loved ones.  

Sarah Stegall‘s seal design was inspired by a visit to the beach in La Jolla, California and the group of seals she saw basking in the sunshine.

The experience reminded her that it was the little things in life, like enjoying the sun or observing seals enjoying the sun that can have a lasting impact on us. If we don’t take care of the natural world around us, we’ll begin to lose those little moments in life. 

Clothing inspired by the Ocean, for Ocean lovers  

We’re so excited to share the Designed by You: Wavemakers edition. The collection features 5 designs by 4 graduates of the MA Illustration programme at the University of Edinburgh. You can now purchase these designs, which will support our Ocean education charity.

This is just the beginning for projects like this at Ocean Generation. We’re exploring more ways to facilitate live briefs with different organisations and universities.  

Book us to deliver a project like this  

We offer live briefs in various creative pursuits across the UK, from illustration to theatre and filmmaking to game design.

If you are interested in bringing an experience like this one to your college, university or youth group, please get in touch here.