The sculpture “Pez-Peste” was presented to the INC at its second session (Chiba, Japan, January 2011) by the health sector and civil society groups, as a symbol of the irreversible consequences of mercury contamination. The Chair of the INC, Ambassador Fernando Lugris, accepted the sculpture on behalf of the Committee.

The sculpture was specially created and donated by the Argentinean artist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu, an internationally recognized Argentinean visual artist and pioneer in landscape art who addresses ecological concerns through his creations.

The INC Bureau was pleased to visit the artist at his home during INC4 (Puta del Este, Uruguay, June-July 2012), see a number of his other works and discuss his commitment to the environment. 

“Pez-Peste” has followed the INC throughout the negotiations process. At the Diplomatic Conference which adopted the Minamata Convention (Kumamoto, Japan, October 2013), the sculpture was passed to the care of the Government of Japan to be displayed at the museum in Minamata in recognition of the important work of the Convention.