Vava'u · Tonga · September 2026
The Tonga Five
Every winter the humpbacks return to Vava'u to give birth in the same shallow
water. Tonga is now deciding how that nursery is protected. In September I am returning to
photograph them while those lines are being drawn. Five frames will come back. Each will be
printed exactly once, never reproduced, never reshot — a record of this population at the
moment its protection was decided.
Auction opens · World Oceans Day · June 8
Why we are going back
The humpbacks of Vava'u return each winter to birth and nurse their calves in the same
sheltered water they have used for generations. Those weeks are the most vulnerable of a
whale's life, and they happen within a few metres of the surface, in the same channels the
boats use.
Tonga is now deciding how that nursery is protected — which grounds are closed, how near a
vessel may come, who may enter the water and under what licence. Those decisions are being
made right now, and they will shape this population for generations.
This expedition exists to be there for it: to get in the water and make a photographic
record of these animals at the moment those lines are being drawn. Whatever these five images
become, they will always carry that date. That is what makes them a landmark, and why there
will only ever be five.
One of one. Closed at one.
Each of the five winning collectors receives a single 40 × 60 inch acrylic face-mount,
hand-signed, with a Certificate of Authenticity stating that the edition is closed at one. When the five frames are
revealed after the expedition, collectors choose their piece in the order they finished the
auction — the first-place bidder picks first, the second-place bidder next, down to the fifth.
Bid higher and you hold the first pick of the five. There is no #6, no reprint, no smaller
format, no licensing. My work lives in private collections all around the world, and even in
Sir Richard Branson's home. But all of those were editions. For the first time ever, I am
creating truly unique, one-off works of art. This is the rarest work I will ever release.
5 Pieces
One open auction. The five highest bidders each receive one 1-of-1 work.
Rank picks first
When the five are revealed, you choose in auction order: 1st place picks first, then 2nd, and so on. The higher you bid, the first pick you hold.
Opens at $1,500
Bidding starts at $1,500 with no ceiling. Raise your own bid anytime.
Card saved, not charged
Your card is saved securely by Stripe at bid time. Only the five winning cards are charged — after the auction closes.
Conservation
Created in collaboration with the Furthermore Foundation, supporting ocean conservation at scale.
The body of work
This is the work that comes back from the water. Years of expeditions with the
humpbacks of Vava'u, distilled to the frames that earned a place in private collections around
the world. The Tonga Five will be cut from this same cloth, in the same waters, this September.
What you see here is what to expect.
Selected works · Jeremy McKane · Vava'u, Tonga. Shown for reference; the five auction pieces
will be made on the September 2026 expedition and revealed after.
