JACKIE ANDERSON / COURTESY OF PANGEASEED FOUNDATION
“ BENEATH THE WAVES ” South African contemporary artist Sonny Behan painted this 1,090-square-foot mural — commissioned by the PangeaSeed Foundation as part of its Sea Walls : Artists for Oceans educational public art project — in May 2023 on a wall along the Peppertree parking lot between Forest and Ocean avenues . It was made possible with support of the Offield Family Foundation . Behan , who splits his time between Miami and Cape Town , South Africa , uses his work as a way to connect people with nature . “ The mural focuses on the Pacific sea nettle jellyfish and addresses the issue of marine plastic pollution . The realistic jellyfish flow across the wall from left to right with increasing turmoil ,” Behan says . “ On the one side , the ocean is bright blue and calm , yet , as you move across the painting , the jellyfish start to transform into plastic bags while the ocean becomes less vibrant and [ more ] chaotic . This shift represents the state of the oceans in the face of increasing plastic pollution and acts as a reminder of the critical need for ocean conservation efforts .”
LAGUNA BEACH MAGAZINE 47