Justin Lutsky H20GRAPHY   We have lost half of our coral reefs in the last 30 years due to climate change, pollution, overfishing, and coastal development. Every year on June 8, the United Nations celebrates World Oceans Day to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean and develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean. This year, to bring attention to the importance of the coral reef ecosystem, I collaborated with acclaimed ocean artivist Hannah Mermaid and eco-friendly designer Inoe Vargas to create a special series of animated, digital art pieces. These one-of-a-kind works will be minted and auctioned as NFTs with a portion of the proceeds going to support our friends at Global Coralition who have been tirelessly working to regenerate coral reefs around the world, combining art and science to empower local communities. Inoe Vargas is a talented costume designer who often uses repurposed, recycled, and eco-conceptual materials to create his incredible pieces. On a crazy deadline to meet World Oceans Day, he created this masterpiece of a coral reef gown in only 4 days. The process began with a basic sketch. He then hand-crafted the shape of the gown using semi-rigid wire which served as the underlying structure on which to apply spray foam. Each bead of foam was also applied by hand over every inch of the gown. Once the physical gown was complete, the final step was for Inoe to apply a paint finish which truly brought the coral to life. While quite spectacular on land, this design was a beast to sink in the water. The foam material he used was so buoyant we had to use over 120 pounds of various sized lead weights attached strategically to sink the coral gown to...... Read more on Full Issue!