While it’s not uncommon to see artwork around Saint John’s bustling uptown waterfront, the sight of artwork actually on the waterfront is something else. If you visited Saint John during the summer of 2017, you were probably greeted by the artwork of Sean Yoro (aka HULA) and what looked like a scene from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
Commissioned by Discover Saint John, Yoro’s multi-story mural disappeared twice a day as the highest tides in the world overtook his depiction of a woman with outstretched arms.
The Hawaiian-born, Los Angeles-based artist is known for his large murals in unconventional places. Yoro tends to incorporate themes of fragility and impermanence (or perhaps resilience depending on your perspective) into his work, spurring commentary on environmental impacts and social inequalities.
Unsurprisingly, Saint John and the Bay of Fundy, with its gargantuan 28-foot tides, made it onto Yoro’s bucket list. For ten days the artist worked around the clock to complete the mural, riding his paddle board along the harbour wall like an elevator.
At the time, the artwork made a splash with locals and tourists, but now Discover Saint John are being put on the world stage as they head to Portugal as one of three finalist in the Seatrade Cruise Awards in the category of Marketing Initiative of the Year Award.
“The tides are most often depicted in rural coastal locations but as the only city on the Bay of Fundy, we were searching for innovative ways to illustrate the power of the tides in an urban setting,” explains Victoria Clarke, Executive Director of Discover Saint John. “Sean’s large social media following and the cool factor of this project ‘put us on the map’ for people around the world. “
The winner of the Seatrade Marketing Initiative of the Year will be announced at Seatrade Cruise Med 2018 on September 19th at Pátio da Galé, Lisbon, Portugal. The Seatrade Cruise Awards are the industry’s premier award scheme.
Sean Yoro: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Discover Saint John: WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM