Wyland returns to New London
New London ― It may have been April 2, but Robert Wyland said Sunday felt like it was Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day.”
The environmental artist, who goes by “Wyland,” returned to the Whaling City this weekend, 30 years after he initially painted his “Great Sperm Whales” mural.
“It feels good after 30 years to come back and try to paint my best (mural),” Wyland, 66, said during a break from his work. “It’s going to be a really strong one.”
Though he said he does not like to repeat paintings, Wyland did have another family of sperm whales painted, using an airless paint sprayer, on the 175-foot-long by 35-foot-high wall on the corner of Eugene O’Neill Drive and State Street by midmorning.
Wyland said family is always a focal point in his work, and he wants to keep living whales, and the ideas of water conservation, in the public eye.
A lot of colors were there, he said, with more details and paint brushes to come.
He started working Friday afternoon when he arrived in the city after finishing a mural at the National Zoo at the Smithsonian on Thursday, his initial reason for traveling to the East Coast. Saturday’s rain prevented him and his crew of local volunteers from progressing.
The bulk of the work will be completed by the end of Sunday so he can add some finishing touches Monday ahead of the 2 p.m. dedication ceremony.
Wyland planned for a giant squid to enter the scene in a bout with the approximately 70-foot-long bull sperm whale on the right side of the painting, while the roughly 50-foot-long mother swims to the left with her calf. In the previous iteration of the Whaling Wall, dolphins acted as the secondary characters.
“I’m going to take the viewer right into the world of whales,” he said.
Wyland, a 2010 international scuba diving Hall of Fame inductee, said he swam with 70 sperm whales while shooting the Discovery film “Wyland: A Brush with Giants” in the Sea of Cortez. He had a bull charge at him, though they actually hunt squid in the depths of the ocean.
“I had to do the matador,” Wyland said of the encounter.
Rich Martin, the chair of the New London Cultural District, got in contact with Wyland’s California-based foundation roughly a year ago to try to bring the artist back to the city. Once Wyland agreed to return, the city was tasked with repairing the wall that failed the previous mural, even after a residential group, the Whaling City Restoration Committee, restored the mural the best it could between 2006 and 2012.
“It’s a great thing for the city,” Martin said. “This is a gateway to our downtown and to have it refreshed and renewed and to have him back here, I mean, this is a spectacle and it’s driving people out to the city.”
This time, the wall was coated in stucco ― a thin finish coat made of cement, lime, sand and water ― before Wyland arrived, which he appreciated. He said as long as the city lightly power washes the mural every three years and re-applies a clear coat acrylic paint sealant, the new mural should last between 40 and 50 years.
Mayor Michael Passero said it’s rewarding to see the new mural go up and that the city was honored to host Wyland once again.
“He so sincerely loves the City of New London,” Passero said. “It’s nice when somebody not from here just falls in love with the place and wants to do everything he can for it.”
Wyland donates his murals to bring awareness to his self-named foundation. In return, the city is using grant funds from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to cover the costs of materials, equipment and a donation to the foundation.
And Wyland’s efforts resonate with residents and fans. A portion of Eugene O’Neill Drive was closed so Wyland could work in peace and residents could observe safely. The city set up bleachers across the street for viewers to use, as well as a stand for merchandise and a painting easel for the young, aspiring artists in the city.
For one fan from West Haven, Sunday was a dream come true.
Allison Jacheo, 45, loves Wyland’s art and environmental efforts so much, she named her now 17-year-old son after the artist.
“I feel like somebody needs to pinch me,” she said. “I never thought I’d be able to meet him, let alone watch him paint.”
Though Wylan Jacheo didn’t understand his mother’s obsession as a child, he said seeing the artist at work on Sunday gave him a new appreciation.
“Now, standing here, just looking at all this, I can see why,” the senior at Notre Dame High School in West Haven said.
Jacheo’s younger brother, Lalen, a 16-year-old sophomore, paints as a hobby and called Wyland fantastic and a great inspiration.
“Thank you to the city of New London for taking the initiative and fixing it and giving him a nice, clean surface,” Allision Jacheo said. “And to Wyland himself for coming back and doing this.”
This will be one of Wyland’s final murals as the artist claimed he was “supposed to be retired.” Instead, he is working on a series of 100 life-sized monumental sculptures of endangered whales and marine life for 100 cities, 10 of which will be underwater and require viewers to dive down to see.
He is also working on the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, which challenges mayors across the country to get the largest number of residents to commit to change habits that will conserve water and reduce harmful runoff.
Wyland is using his time in New London to announce the five winners of this year’s challenge, the first time he will do so in a small city.
Martin is hopeful that Wyland’s return to the city is just the beginning of new art in the city. He hopes to improve art that is currently in New London along the way and continue enhancing the state’s third cultural district.
“Public art becomes part of the fabric of a city, and this one certainly inspired some other art that I see here and its all great,” Wyland said. “So I’m happy to be a part of that early on.”
k.arnold@theday.com
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