Marine and aquatic life charity Sea Life Trust has unveiled a series of immersive installations, using a 360 degree underwater experience to tell the story of two beluga whales removed from captivity. The installations let visitors step through the glass and move into a submerged world, narrating the journey of the whales from their former Shanghai aquarium to Iceland.

The Sea Life Trust’s experience raises awareness of the issues aquatic marine life suffers from in captivity, to create an emotional connection between the audience and the two beluga whales – Little Grey and Little White. Working with communications agency HeyHuman, the charity has launched the initiative in six countries, taking it to the UK, Thailand, Australia, the US, Iceland and Germany.

The Sea Life Trust is committed to improving the quality of marine life and tackling plastic pollution. The project, first announced in September last year, blends experience, emotion and storytelling to engage the audience in a global conversation, using the story of the two beluga whales to discuss marine life welfare and sensitise the general public.

The project fits within the trust’s track record of sustainability projects and demonstrates the organisations’ commitment to animal welfare. The series of installations celebrates Sea Life Trust’s world-first beluga whale conservation project, the Sanctuary, based in Iceland’s Klettsvik Bay. The sanctuary project, sponsored by Merlin Entertainment, has allowed the organisation to transport the belugas across 6,000 miles, from China to Iceland. Visitors of the installations are invited to step inside a dome, where they can experience the whales’ natural world and journey through CGI projections and voice-over narration.

“Our focus was to deliver a series of global, immersive experiences that would really bring to life Sea Life Trust’s investment in the welfare of the belugas, and the trust’s wider conservation efforts,” HeyHuman’s managing partner Liz Richardson says. “We wanted to inspire Sea Life visitors to form an emotional connection to the two beluga whales, by giving them the opportunity to experience an underwater world.”

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