More than 1.5 billion masks found their way into the ocean in 2020. Disposable masks will continue to be a way of life for a long time yet. Alibaba Group, being one of the largest sellers of disposable face masks, wanted to provide a solution to a growing problem. The corporation believes that a necessary item that protects human life doesn’t have to be something that will cause devastation to the environment, so it partnered with WWF and agency, F5 Shanghai, for Earth Day 2021 to generate more awareness about the issue.
The partners created an installation called Fading Sea Creatures, a live performance by emerging artist, Qiurui Du. The performance focused on jellyfish, the world’s most resilient sea creature, to convey the message of how even the oldest animal on earth that survived calamities, mass extinctions, and outlived dinosaurs, may soon fall to the consequences of mask pollution. It featured Qiurui’s jellyfish painting, created on canvas made entirely out of disposable face masks. The painting was done with hydrochromic paint, which disappeared when the mask canvas was submerged underwater. The jellyfish painting reappeared when the mask canvas was removed from the water, conveying the message of how life will return to our seas when we remove the presence of masks from our oceans.
The activation included footage of masks found in the ocean and the destruction they are causing. A film of the activation has been released on social media to spread the message.
Credits
Client: Alibaba Group
Agency: F5 Shanghai
Chief Creative Officer: Adams Fan
Regional Creative Lead: Sarah de Joya
Creative Group Head: Kelvin Co
Public Relations Head: Pan Gu
