The Great African Seaforest

(Click on the image for a larger view)

In one of my lengthiest and most detailed illustration projects yet, I got the honour of working closely with the fabulous team at The Seachange Project (creators of the Oscar winning documentary 'My Octopus Teacher')- to create a vision of hope for the Great African Seaforest, a vast expanse of kelp forest in the Atlantic Ocean along the western coast of South Africa. From the glamorous Cape Fur Seal, Cape Clawless Otter and the African Penguin to little known klipfish and limpets, the Great African Seaforest is home to a myriad marine organisms that make the kelp a living, breathing, and a dancing ecosystem! Many of these creatures are threatened by overfishing and anthropogenic disturbances today, and conservationists at the Seachange Project are working towards establishing safe, undisturbed habitats for these species to bounce back.

The illustration is available as a freely downloadable resource on the organization's website here. A massive thanks to the Seachange team (Swati Thiyagarajan, Craig Foster, Carina Frankal, Dani Ehrlich, Jannes Landschoff) for trusting me with the illustration, for having me at Cape Town for a field visit, and for their patience through the project!