A Seed Grows in Curaçao
Curaçao Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, center, in front of artist 7.1's "Semilla" at the christening of a new circular-economy center on the site of a former oil refinery in Curacao. Also in photo are personnel from the Curaçao government, the UN, Greening the Islands, and Blue Planet Alliance.
Giovanni Abath was a steelworker at the Isla oil refinery in Curaçao for many years.
The Isla oil refinery in Curaçao — at one time the largest in the world — dated back to 1918, a deep-harbored option to refine the oil from nearby Venezuela. It was, for 100 years, the financial engine of the island. But it closed in 2019, and through a variety of factors — including the pandemic and strained relations with Venezuela — it has remained shut.
Abath, like many employees of the island’s largest employer, was unsure what to do next. But both he and the refinery have forged a new path, one that is turning away from fossil fuels and embracing a renewable and sustainable future.
This week, the Isla refinery was rechristened 2 Bays, which will oversee the transformation of the area into a center for circular business enterprises.
And Abath has transformed, as well, into an artist who goes by 7.1 (those numbers corresponding with where his initials fall in the alphabet). Curaçao Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas unveiled a new sculpture by 7.1 on Tuesday night at the launch of the 2 Bays complex — a sculpture called “Semilla” (which, like Spanish, is the local Papamiento language word for “Seed”). Semilla depicts a giant seed emerging from the wreckage of an industrial spout, a metaphor for a sustainable future developing out of what was once dirty energy. The materials used in making Semilla include scrap metal from the Isla refinery.
7.1’s “Semilla,” a sculpture made of scrap metal from the shuttered Isla refinery
Since leaving the refinery, 7.1 has also become a prolific street artist, responsible for an array of murals and other outdoor installations in the Otrabanda neighborhood of Curaçao’s capital city, Willemstad.
During World War II, Curaçao was an important locale because of the refinery. It powered Allied forces, and 8,000 American troops were sent there to protect it from German attacks during the war. (While there, they taught the islanders baseball, and now Curaçao enjoys a curious stat: it has more Major League Baseball players per capita than any other place on the planet.)
Curaçao is an autonomous country within the kingdom of the Netherlands, and it is one of almost a dozen island countries or territories that has signed a pledge with Blue Planet Alliance to transition to 100% renewable energy. And this week, Blue Planet Alliance and our partner Brooklyn Story Lab have been in Curaçao to attend our MOU partner Greening the Islands’ annual summit, and to meet with government officials to help facilitate the transition, as Blue Planet Alliance, Greening the Islands, and Brooklyn Story Lab work together to help similar seeds emerge all over the world.
