Benjamin Von Wong’s art is hard to miss. 

The 37-year-old Toronto-born artist is known for large-scale, dramatic installations that bring attention to pressing environmental issues. They are, in that sense, crafts of activism. His biggest objective? Fighting climate change.

Past projects of Von Wong’s include an installation that featured 168,000 plastic straws taken from the streets of Vietnam and donated by organizations to emphasize how plastic pollution is a threat to the environment, specifically oceans. Naturally, he named it the Strawpocalypse.

Another piece, this one dubbed #TurnOffThePlasticTap, featured a nine-metre plastic tap that had bottles and other plastic items pouring out of it, sourced from Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. In March 2022, Von Wong and his team placed that piece outside the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, where discussions were taking place regarding the Paris Agreement For Plastics at the time. Over 1500 delegates from 193 different countries were present, making for quite an audience.

More recently, Von Wong displayed a piece titled Biodiversity Jenga at the U.N. Biodiversity Conference (also known as COP16 or Convention on Biological Diversity’s 16th Conference of the Parties), which took place from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 in Cali, Colombia. The conference takes place every two years and, according to the U.N., its aim is to discuss and negotiate biodiversity policies to protect the world’s ecosystems. Specific outcomes at COP16 included furthering the 30×30 initiative to protect 30 per cent of the Earth’s land and oceans by 2030. 

At the previous conference, held in Montreal in 2022, each U.N. delegate agreed to create new pledges and strategies demonstrating how they plan to foster biodiversity restoration and ocean conservation. Sadly, Canada was one of only 25 countries (plus the EU) that submitted a plan, as of October 2024. 

As this year’s conference wrapped up, 3 spoke to Von Wong about Biodiversity Jenga, a nearly six-and-a-half-metre-high installation that contains dioramas of 12 different land and ocean ecosystems, including kelp forests, coral reefs and Andean cloud forests. The piece represents “the delicate balance between human activity and the accelerating loss of Earth’s biodiversity.” 

Von Wong designed it alongside other artists, engineers and environmental experts, including over 200 students from local schools in Cali. It was also produced in partnership with SeaTrees, a non-profit that restores coastal ecosystems, which debuted Biodiversity Blocks, a new funding model designed to restore and protect critical ecosystems and the world’s first set of biodiversity marine credits.

How did the idea for Biodiversity Jenga come about?

We started brainstorming a concept about six months ago. I was having a conversation with my friends at SeaTrees, and they were in the process of preparing to launch Biodiversity Blocks. We realized there was no symbol for biodiversity…and that, rather than think about a marketing campaign, it would be far more interesting to contribute a symbol. 

The game of Jenga immediately [came] to mind because of all the interdependencies of all the blocks. Jenga is actually a zero-sum game; you play it until one person loses. But in the game of biodiversity, Jenga is not just an extractive system where you only have to take out blocks—you can actually put blocks back in. I felt like it [was] the perfect metaphor for what everyone here at COP16 is trying to do.

When creating the piece, what were the primary messages you wanted to deliver?

We have these goals of trying to protect 30 per cent of nature by 2030. That’s the big COP16 goal. Yet, where we are at this moment is that we’re taking blocks far quicker than we are putting them back in. So, I wanted to create a symbol that everyone could agree upon.

We’re in Colombia, and there are 13 main ecosystems here. We tried to represent those 13 different ecosystems across multiple blocks. We have ocean ecosystems all the way down to rainforests, deserts and mangroves. 

On top of the tower, we have three children. They show that we’re not separate from nature, but [are pieces of it] where everything is deeply interconnected. One child is holding a megaphone; the other is holding a pair of binoculars; the third is holding a watering can. These symbolize the three actions we help people take to pay more attention, to speak up and to care for nature.

It’s clear you’ve engaged with communities in Colombia ahead of COP16 and incorporated the work of many local artists. Why was that important to you?

Every one of my projects is a collaboration. We can’t do things that are so big alone. And I think it’s a perfect metaphor for what it takes to solve the biodiversity crisis. There’s not one person that’s going to have the same vision. It’s a group of people working together, each contributing their own strengths.

Having this on display at a conference, a gathering of all these nations coming together, does sound like a good example.

For sure. Everyone sees this work that they contributed to being featured in local newspapers and on international news. It really fills you with a sense of possibility.

For Canadians who did not make it to COP16 to see Biodiversity Jenga, how would you like to deliver your message?

A healthy biodiversity provides us with clean water, fresh air and a stable climate. [It’s] all of the things that we need in order to live, to survive, to thrive. Environment is one of the things that affects all of us. I think we should be aware of how our small and large actions can really make a difference.

It’s very easy to feel like “nothing I do matters.” But projects like these prove the opposite. I’m just one dude making this thing and somehow, we’ve created a piece put on display in front of 17,000 delegates coming in from 196 different countries.

I wasn’t invited by the United Nations. I had to cold email my way up to finally find the right person. I had to do the fundraising. And then I had to come to Colombia and build a team that would help build the art installations. It’s crazy what happens when you put your mind to something. Everyone is always hunting for purpose and meaning. I do art because I’m an artist, but whether you’re a lawyer, doctor or whatever, there are going to be ways for you to get involved.

Canada is only one of about 25 countries, along with the EU, that have submitted an updated biodiversity pledge. How do you feel about this, and how could Canada be doing better right now?

I’m frustrated that more countries aren’t enthusiastically participating. Getting these pledges into place is only one tiny piece of the battle. If you think of these pledges as New Year’s resolutions, what really matters is whether or not you follow through. So, the question is less about who is submitting their plans on time, but really, which countries are actually going to be able to stay accountable? Canada has a little bit of a head start. But this is just the beginning. 

To get a peek at Biodiversity Jenga and to learn how you can make an environmental impact directly (for instance, by helping fund the purchase of a mangrove tree, which supports 10 years of ecosystem stewardship), visit the SeaTrees initiative here.