A 135-foot wide, 45-foot high coastal-inspired art installation is coming to Gulf Shores this week thanks to a collaboration between Surf Style, the clothing and retail chain, and world-renown artist Wyland. 

A marine artist and philanthropist, Wyland has painted over 100 murals worldwide to promote ocean conservation through public art, education and his foundation.

"If you really want to get the message of conservation of clean water and healthy oceans, like I do, art is the gateway" Wyland told GCM over a phone interview on Wednesday.

He recently made international news after one of his "Whaling Wall" murals, a 164-foot-tall depiction of whales and ocean life he created in 1990, was painted over in Dallas, Texas, to make way for a FIFA World Cup promotion. According to The Guardian, he has sued the sporting organization for $25 million in damages, citing the Visual Artists Rights Act, which protects artists of "recognized stature" against "intentional or negligent destruction of their work."

"I'm not litigious, but the only way you're going to stop that is you have to basically sue for a massive amount of money, so that they get the message," Wyland said. "It's too late for my mural in Dallas, but it's not too late to protect the rest of them, and yeah, all public art in America."

Other murals from his "Whaling Wall" series still remain in cities around the world and as close as New Orleans. Collectively, these projects are considered among the largest public art initiatives in history and are viewed by an estimated 1 billion people annually, according to a press release.

"Our oceans are facing grave dangers from overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and invasive species," said Avi Ovaknin, president of Surf Style. "At Surf Style, we believe marine conservation is essential to protecting our planet for future generations. We are proud to partner with Wyland to raise awareness of the critical role healthy oceans play in sustaining life on Earth."

Surf Style's relationship with Wyland began with the preservation of one of the artist's murals in Marathon, Florida, and has since expanded into a growing partnership focused on art, conservation and community engagement.

The Gulf Shores installation of his "Blue Ballet" artwork, is a 135-foot wide, 45-foot high  edition of an original Wyland first created in 2013 featuring giant manta rays floating over a colorful reef. The original peice is about 20-foot long and 8-9-foot high, according to Wyland. It was inspired by the aquatic life within the Georgia Aquarium, where it initially debuted, but something drew Wyland back to the piece and he decided to keep it.

“He’ll be doing a meet and greet, signing autographs, meeting local artists and just showing off his work and talking about his conservation efforts and his nonprofit,” local spokesperson Angela Chaffins said during Monday's Gulf Shores City Council meeting. “The building on Highway 59 and Beach Boulevard that’s just a blank turquoise wall will now have one of his art installations."

The installation will be completed by Wednesday and open for viewing at the pop-up event on Saturday, June 20.

The event will take place at 102 E. Beach Blvd. from noon to 2 p.m.