Disco Shark isn’t the rave name of some mysterious benefactor; I’m actually talking about a disco ball in the shape of a shark. For those of you who visited Coachella’s Yuma Tent, you might have noticed this amazing 8-foot art installation of a fiberglass shark covered in mirror panels and Swarovski crystals. Artist credits go to Kevin McHugh, who has also been a talent manager for incredible acts like Nicole Moudaber and Danny Tenaglia. In an interview with THUMP, McHugh revealed that was inspired to create the shark after seeing a gruesome National Geographic documentary about shark finning – a process in which sharks are captured have their fins cut for pricey meals before being essentially left for dead in the ocean.
Disco Shark has been the centerpiece of the Yuma Tent for two years now, but also hangs up in LA’s Sound Nightclub. Its overwhelming popularity recently birthed a GoFundMe campaign with a $20,000 target to aid the organizations Oceana and Shark Team One.
“We kill 100 million sharks a year and sharks kill an average of one human a year. Sharks are at the top of the food chain. Breaking that complicated chain by only killing sharks risks a cascade of chaos and destruction including out of control algae and the extinction of smaller animals who rely on sharks to kill their predators.” – McHugh
Donations to the Disco Shark campaign range from $25 to $15,000, and come with a range of gifts for people who participate from keychains, to scaled replicas. For a $15,000 donation you can receive the 8-foot likeness of the gigantic shark, so you can keep the Coachella vibes going year round. Currently, the campaign has raised over 10% of its target goal in less than a week. To learn more about the horrors of shark finning or donate to this cause, visit the GoFundMe page.
Photo: Coachella
Source: Thump