California artists made an 82-foot whale from 5,000 pounds of plastic, earning national recognition

Standing 82 feet long on the high-desert campus of Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico, a life-sized blue whale made entirely from discarded trash continues to attract attention from around the world. Its huge size and message about protecting the environment have made it a notable attraction. Created in 2018 by California-based artists Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova, the sculpture is named "Ethyl the Whale". It was built using about 5,000 pounds of single-use plastic waste. After being moved from California to its permanent home in New Mexico, the record-setting artwork was named a Roadside America Sight of the Week in 2026, bringing further attention to its importance as a cultural attraction. The giant artwork highlights the growing problem of ocean pollution. It also shows how everyday waste can be turned into public art.Turning plastic waste into life-sized artThe project began when the Monterey Bay Aquarium asked Stockdill and Salnikova to create a striking artwork showing the problem of marine pollution. To show the amount of plastic waste entering natural environments, the artists designed the sculpture to match the exact size of a fully grown blue whale. Ac...