Without the Ocean, there is no City
Acrylic painting exploring the invisible connection between cities and the ocean through fluorescent light.
Year
2025
Medium
Acrylic on canvas (including UV fluorescent acrylic
Dimensions
29.5 × 42 cm (11.6 × 16.5 in)
Status
Available
Without the Ocean, There Is No City began unexpectedly during a team painting activity while I was working at Seaway7 in The Hague. Inspired by two separate reference postcards—one featuring jellyfish and another showing a city skyline—I combined both images into a single composition. What started as a spontaneous experiment gradually evolved over the following six to seven months into a finished artwork.
As the painting developed, I shared it with friends from Seaweed, a community with whom I regularly entered the North Sea. Their suggestion to introduce more marine life among the buildings encouraged me to continue expanding the underwater atmosphere surrounding the city.
Today, the artwork reminds me that cities and the ocean are inseparably connected, even when the sea seems distant. Coastal cities make that relationship visible, but inland cities also depend on the ocean through climate regulation, trade, food systems, and countless ecological processes. The painting became a reflection on those invisible connections and on my own years living near the North Sea in The Hague, an experience I deeply treasure despite always knowing that Colombia remained home.
🌿 Nature Inspiration
Jellyfish are among the oldest animals on Earth, drifting through the oceans for more than 500 million years. Their movements are carried by marine currents that connect ecosystems across vast distances, reminding us that the ocean functions as a single interconnected system.
Although cities often appear separate from the sea, they ultimately depend on healthy oceans. The ocean regulates climate, produces much of the oxygen we breathe, supports global transportation, and sustains biodiversity that influences life far beyond the coastline. The jellyfish floating above the skyline symbolize this often-overlooked relationship: every city exists within the influence of the ocean.
