An anniversary is a good opportunity to connect with people that we do not have the chance to interact with on a regular day and invite them into the conversation. Art works exceptionally well in bringing us closer. Visual creations, like the ones featured below, can make complex issues visible, transport us into unexpected situations, and help us feel the urgency of challenges that might otherwise remain abstract.
At JPI Oceans, we see firsthand why ocean science and policies matter so much, and we actively look for ways to communicate that importance. For our 15th anniversary, we invited artists, photographers and enthusiasts alike to explore the ideas behind our Joint Actions, the collaborative initiatives through which we address pressing ocean research and innovation priorities. We wanted to see how others might interpret these topics through their own creative lenses.
The response was inspiring. Over the summer, we received 56 entries, each offering a different perspective on an ongoing Joint Action. After careful consideration by our jury, three works stood out. Here are the top entries, and the stories behind them.
Joint Action: Science for Good Environmental Status
Two Atlantic cod larvae, only three days old and barely 4 millimetres long. Stina, a marine ecologist at Aarhus University, did not find them in the ocean. She collected eggs and milt from wild Faroese cod, manually fertilised them, and monitored their development until they hatched. The image makes visible a process that goes unnoticed to most of us. The reproductive capacity of fish stocks is an important indicator of Good Environmental Status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and the survival of vulnerable early life stages sustains the renewal of fish populations.
“I want people to see the invisible,” Stina explained, “Most people will only see fish as food on their plates but never see how it started, where it came from, and what it carries. You can only ask questions when you begin to know things.”
Joint Action: Changing Marine Lightscapes
Pieter’s triptych shows three scenarios that can alter marine lightscapes: artificial light from ships, sediment-laden river water darkening the sea, and the glow of coastal cities. Using a Python script in Inkscape, Pieter transformed the original images into sinusoidal line patterns, with shorter wavelengths in brighter areas. He then used a pen plotter to draw the patterns in white gel ink on boards painted with dark mineral earth paints. With Pieter (@nove_wave_art on Instagram), this prize stays in the country: both the JPI Oceans Secretariat and Pieter’s organisation, Seascape, are based in Belgium.
Joint Action: Blue Carbon
A small boat moves through a dense bed of brown macroalgae, seen from above. The contrast in scale draws attention to macroalgal ecosystems and to the open scientific question of how, how much, and for how long, carbon is captured and stored in and beyond these habitats. Linh (@linhnguyen on Instagram) is a Vietnamese amateur photographer, fascinated by wildlife and natural photography, who recently received the first prize in the Vietnam National Award category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026.
Fifteen years in, it meant a lot to see our Joint Actions through other people’s eyes. Our warm thanks go to everyone who took part, and to our jury members Clarissa Sellem, Markus Reymann and Sarah-Marie Kröger for their time and care.
Congratulations again to Stina, Pieter, and Linh.