Stockdill, Salnikova Transform 5,000 Pounds of Plastic into 82‑Foot Whale

In 2018, Joel Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova were approached by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to craft a visual statement on marine pollution. The commission called for a life‑sized blue whale that could convey the scale of plastic waste entering the oceans.

They gathered 5,000 pounds of discarded single‑use plastics—trash bags, milk jugs, and bottle caps—melting each into interlocking panels that together form the whale’s translucent skin. Each panel weighs roughly 30 pounds, and the finished sculpture weighs 82 feet long and 60,000 pounds in total.

After its unveiling in San Francisco, the sculpture was disassembled for transport; Meow Wolf purchased it in 2019 and donated it to Santa Fe Community College. Dean Susan Martinez oversaw its reassembly on a 10‑acre plot in the high desert, positioning the whale in a prominent spot that serves both as a landmark and a live‑in learning exhibit.

The piece has become a roadside icon; Roadside America named it a Sight of the Week in 2026, and local school groups use the whale as a classroom for discussing single‑use packaging. Visitors can walk alongside the entire structure, a tangible reminder that plastic pollution affects ecosystems everywhere.

College officials plan a 2026 conservation audit to assess the whale’s structural integrity amid high‑desert weather, while environmental NGOs aim to replicate the model in other universities, turning discarded plastic into public monuments that educate and inspire.