TAIWO SUNDAY ADEROGBA
Renowned visual artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong, internationally recognized for his artistic monuments that address global issues, will be unveiling his latest art installation at the entrance of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia.
From October 21 to November 1, Von Wong’s “Biodiversity Jenga” will be featured at the entrance of the Blue Zone at the Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacífico, where member-states are expected to share how they plan on implementing the brand-new Global Biodiversity Framework (also known as The Biodiversity Plan)
This 21-foot-tall installation, which looks like it’s on the verge of tipping over, represents both the interconnectedness of humans and nature along and the importance of urgent and immediate action to keep from hitting an ecological tipping point.
This installation was designed in collaboration with the non-profit SeaTrees, who will be unveiling the world’s first marine biodiversity credit – a real-world methodology to restore “ecosystem” blocks in the real world.
“SeaTrees protects and restores coastal ecosystems around the world, including kelp and mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, oyster reefs, and coastal watersheds. The ocean supports the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and is the hero of reversing climate change. At COP-16, we will announce our science-based biodiversity restoration projects, in collaboration with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Biodiversity Jenga art project will call attention to the ocean’s vital role in biodiversity and climate regulation.” – Kevin Whilden – Co-Founder and Executive Director of SeaTrees
Benjamin Von Wong will arrive in Colombia on September 28th to begin overseeing the construction of Biodiversity Jenga. The Canadian artist, based in New York, will collaborate with local artists Raizha Guzman, Sasha Herrera, and Milton Duarte, along with the active participation of over 200 local students. The installation is being produced by Charlotte de Casabianca, the Colombia chapter lead of Burners without Borders, and will be staged at the studio of Jonathan Edmonds, from Metamateriales in the San Antonio neighborhood of Cali.
The game of Jenga, created by British game designer Leslie Scott and based on a block-stacking dynamic originating in Ghana, emerged in the 1970s and takes its name from the Swahili term “kujenga,” meaning “to build.” In Von Wong’s work, Jenga is used as a powerful metaphor to illustrate the fragility of ecosystems. Just as in the game, where the removal of each block threatens the tower’s stability, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation weaken the fundamental structures that support all life, including our own, on the planet.
Von Wong’s installation aims to offer a compelling reflection on how every lost natural element—whether a species, habitat, or resource—contributes to the imminent ecological collapse, underscoring the urgent need for effective actions to restore and preserve environmental balance before it becomes irreversible.
Benjamin Von Wong is also known for receiving a Guinness World Record (2019) for building the world’s largest (supported) art installation out of single-use plastic straws (168,000) and creating a monument at UNEA 5.2 in Nairobi, Kenya which has become the symbol for the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations to “Turn Off The Plastic Tap.
“I hope to create a symbol for Biodiversity that all can use to understand the precarious situation humanity finds itself in. Although unstable, this tower is not a symbol of despair. It is a symbol of hope to show the many opportunities we have to restore our ecosystems and to save ourselves!” – Benjamin Von Wong
After the event, Biodiversity Jenga will remain in the city’s Botanical Garden as a permanent symbol of institutional and community commitment to environmental conservation.
