Taiji, Japan Wyland Whaling Wall 32

History of the Taiji, Japan Wyland Whaling Wall 32

-Whales

Sometimes, the decision to paint a mural wasn’t easy. In the case of Taiji, the location was fraught with years of controversy due to the region’s past reputation for whale hunting. Wyland first visited Taiji in 1987 after completing his first mural in Japan in Funabashi. He was asked by the city to consider creating a mural for Taiji. Given the city’s history, it would have been easiest to ignore the request and move on to another location. After all, the mural projects were created to inspire residents about the importance of conservation and protecting these animals, not hunting them. However, after much consideration, it was clear that the goal of the Whaling Wall mural project – the largest public arts-in-public-places project ever created to promote marine conservation – was badly needed in places like Taiji.

With that in mind, Wyland accepted the offer, with the condition that his message and mission would be for Taiji and all places that hunt whales to cease, regardless of tradition, due to the irreparable harm it was causing to these species. Of particular concern to the artist was the future survival of right whales, which symbolized Taiji whaling. “Whalers called them “right whales” because they were the only large whales that floated after they were killed,” Wyland said. “To honor and memorialize the animals that had suffered, I painted a life-size mother right whale and her baby. I felt that if I could paint the right whales swimming free in their own environment, the Japanese and many visitors to this coastal community would see what I see when I look at whales. I had hoped the mural would begin a new understanding of how we view God’s greatest creatures.”

Whaling wall 32

Taiji, Japan
30 Feet Long x 60 Feet High
Dedicated August 1991
By Taiji Town Mayor

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