Vava'u · Tonga · September 2026
The Tonga Five
For the first time in human history, the law is beginning to recognize the whale
as a person — with the same right to live that you and I hold. In September I am returning to
the humpbacks of Vava'u to photograph them at the threshold of that change. Five frames will
come back. Each will be printed exactly once, never reproduced, never reshot — the record of
the moment the world began to see them as kin.
Auction opens · World Oceans Day · June 8
Why we are going back
Across the Pacific, legislation is moving that would grant whales legal personhood — the
recognition that a whale is not a resource but a being, with the same fundamental right to
live as a human. It has never happened before. We are standing at the line where it begins.
This expedition exists to be there for it: to get in the water and make a photographic
record of these animals at the exact moment the law starts to see them as persons. Whatever
these five images become, they will always carry that date — the year humanity began to
recognize another mind in the sea as one of its own. 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.
