Yuan Xikun (born 1944 in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

, Yunnan Province) is a Chinese visual artist and environmental activist. In 2011, Yuan proposed building a giant sculpture composed of sand collected from five of earth's continents and water from its Arctic and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

regions to draw attention to

ozone depletion Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone l ...

and climate change.

Awards and decorations

* Top Philanthropist & Cultural Award (2006) * UNEP Patron for the Arts Environment (2010) * May Day Labor Honor Medal (2011) *

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

, 3rd class (Ukraine, 2008)

References

Living people 1944 births Chinese contemporary artists Chinese environmentalists Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Arts People from Kunming {{environmentalist-stub