BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, March 24, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- In a video about his art, muralist Felipe Reyes explains why he joined forces with investigative reporter Ian Urbina to draw attention to human rights and environmental abuses at sea within The Outlaw Ocean Mural Project.

A global effort to disseminate investigative journalism about human exploitation and labor crimes at sea, the project brings together painters from around the world to leverage public creativity with a cause. These paintings are based on the groundbreaking reporting produced by a small, non-profit news outlet based in Washington, D.C., The Outlaw Ocean Project. The organization exposes the urgent problems happening on the Earth’s oceans including sea slavery, arms trafficking, the climate crisis and overfishing.

What makes The Outlaw Ocean Project a distinct news organization is three-fold. First, the reporting focuses on the more than 50 million people who work in a realm that covers over two thirds of the planet, but whose stories are rarely told. Second, the news-gathering is funded directly by readers and foundations so that the stories can be published for free in over a half dozen languages and more than three dozen countries, which gives it wide impact. Third, the journalism is targeted toward non-news platforms and a younger and more international audience by converting these stories into art. In turn, individuals are able to connect with the issues on a more visceral level.

The Outlaw Ocean Mural Project is part of this innovation and offers a communal display of nontraditional journalism with unmatched effectiveness.

Colombian-born Felipe Reyes is a visual artist, muralist and art teacher based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His interest in public space originated in his early experiences in community work.

Reyes’ aesthetic seeks to balance chance and conscious decision, synthesis and expressiveness. His work is full of recurring iconographies, atmospheres, color palettes and aesthetic codes.

The open-air painter sees his art as stimulating a wider conversation. “I believe that art, above all, creates space for doubt, raises questions and generates different interpretations or perceptions,” said Reyes.

Passionate about highlighting the kinds of ocean issues documented by Urbina, the artist acknowledges the importance of increasing awareness through art. “This type of discussion affects all of humanity and it’s something that should be public knowledge,” asserted Reyes. He continued, “...therein lies the true value of what we are doing, in this collaboration between journalism and art.”

Reyes’ mural can be found in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is called “The Silent Invader.”

Media Team
The Outlaw Ocean Project
media@theoutlawocean.com
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Felipe Reyes | #TheOutlawOceanMuralProject