Faithful to its long commitment to protecting the oceans, Blancpain has joined the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs, Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs and DivePhotoGuide.com to present Oceans, an underwater photography exhibition at the United Nations building in New York City.
In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, beginning in 2009, June 8 would become World Oceans Day, the product of their effort to raise global awareness of the challenges faced by the international community in the usage and preservation of its oceans. Essential to food security and to the health and survival of all life, oceans power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. While too often ignored or exploited in today’s world, there are nevertheless bright spots that give hope, including but not limited to marine reserves where fishing is prohibited and marine life, therefore, is able to spectacularly thrive.
The exhibition features photography from sixteen widely renowned photographers—from Stephen Frink to Kurt Amsler—all associated Edition Fifty Fathoms, Blancpain’s yearly publication dedicated to the underwater. In addition to the award winning work of fifty of the best divers and photographers worldwide, two short videos are on display, one showcasing exclusive footage of the Coelacanth, one of the most important zoological discoveries of the 20th century, and the other presenting Laurent Ballesta’s Gombessa National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Expedition (completed in conjunction with Blancpain), an exploration, research and media project designed to find, survey and protect the ocean’s final wild remnants.