Ethyl the Blue Whale plastic sculpture

Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

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Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Ethyl the Whale is an 82-foot recycled-plastic blue whale sculpture by Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova on the Santa Fe Community College campus. Commissioned by Monterey Bay Aquarium, it was moved by Meow Wolf and welcomed to campus on Earth Day, 22 April 2019.

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Ethyl the Blue Whale plastic sculpture

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Approximate location · 35.604° N, 106.028° W

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The story

Ethyl the Whale is a life-sized blue whale built from hand-recycled plastic trash, and she rises above the grounds of Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico.

The artists Joel Dean Stockdill and Yustina Salnikova were commissioned by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to make her. New Mexico Magazine, in 2023, said the 82-foot sculpture was built over six months with the help of more than 50 artists and volunteers, and that the idea came from the figure that every nine minutes the weight of a blue whale in plastic enters the ocean. The name refers to polyethylene. According to the college's 2019 page, over 4,000 pounds of plastic bales were used for the diamond-shaped skin panels, each panel weighing about 4.5 to 5 pounds.

The Santa Fe arts collective Meow Wolf bought Ethyl and paid to have her moved from San Francisco to the college. She was welcomed to campus on Earth Day, 22 April 2019, and the college said she would stay there for the foreseeable future. New Mexico Magazine says she was taken apart and driven 1,080 miles.

New Mexico Magazine states she holds the Guinness World Record for the largest recycled-plastic sculpture, while the college's 2026 newsletter says only that she is believed to be the world's largest recycled plastic artwork. It adds that she is solar powered, glows at night and is freely accessible to the public.

The college's Art on Campus Committee looks after outdoor art. Ask at the campus about parking before visiting.

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A large outdoor sculpture on the grounds of Santa Fe Community College. SFCC's 2026 newsletter says it is freely accessible to the public, solar powered and glows at night.

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On the Santa Fe Community College campus, Santa Fe, New Mexico, behind the college according to New Mexico Magazine (2023). SFCC (2026) says it is freely accessible.

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Public art

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12 km away

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