With Australia's high rates of skin cancer, The Spot was more than an art piece- it was a warning. Sitting amidst the pristine sands and regular activity of Tamarama Beach - the four meter 'spot', grew each day over the course of the festival, changing size, colour and shape until it dominated the beach, looming down on beach goers at five times its original size. Mimicking the growth evolution of real skin cancer, the work was informed by genuine warning signs. Emphasising the work's aim to raise awareness on the benefits of early detection, visitors had access to free skin assessments on site and were also offered samples of the brand's 50+SPF.

During Sydney's annual Sculpture by the Sea festival, 'The Spot' appeared on one of the city's most iconic beaches. An unassuming enough, four meter 'Spot' appeared, growing over the course of the festival into a much more ominous growth, five times the size of the original spot across the beach. The evolving work served as a timely reminder of the life-saving value in sun safety and early detection of skin cancers, as well as the potentially deadly consequences of sun exposure.

Despite decades of sun-safety campaigns, we have not been able to move the needle when it comes on skin cancer in this country. Too many Australians still die from a cancer that is largely preventable.
We knew we needed something big, bold and provocative. Something that would jolt Australians out of their stupor.
So, we gave one of Australia's most iconic beaches...melanoma.
We created an evolving sculpture that mimicked the shape and size of a real melanoma, but on a scale that could not be ignored, and let it grow on Tamarama beach as part of the world-famous Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. Nestled in-between the sunbathers looking to usher in summer, it served as a stark reminder to all, of the dangers of the Australian sun.
Starting as a small black formation - 'mole' - we engaged high profile Influencers like DroneSharkapp and Skin Check Champions to seed posts questioning what was appearing to ‘grow’ on Tamarama beach. This was followed by traditional media articles asking the same question.
Once at full size, we revealed the formation to be a melanoma through both traditional and social media, offering free skin checks through Skin Check Champions down at Tamarama Beach.
We created video content/collateral on the sculpture to engage healthcare professionals at the 2024 Australasian Melanoma Conference happening at the same time in Sydney, demonstrating Bristol Myers Squibb and La Roche-Posay's commitment to prevention and early disease detection. But...we didn't stop there. We took The Spot to Canberra and gave Parliament House melanoma for Melanoma Skin Cancer Advocacy Network's start of summer BBQ, offering skin checks for key decision-makers, making sure the critical need for action on skin cancer was heard loud and clear.

The sculpture, made from recycled PET polyester inflatables, underwent five transformations in size and color. Over the course of the two-week festival, it gradually grew to five times its original size and changed coloring - effectively illustrating the progression of skin cancer.
With Australia's high rates of skin cancer, The Spot was more than an art piece- it was a warning. Sitting amidst the pristine sands and regular activity of Tamarama Beach - the 5 meter 'spot', grew over the course of the festival, changing size, colour and shape until it dominated the beach, looming down on beach goers at five times it’s original size. Mimicking the growth evolution of real skin cancer, the work was informed by genuine warning signs. Emphasising the work's aim to raise awareness on the benefits of early detection, visitors had access to free skin assessments on site and were also offered samples of the brand's 50+SPF.

The evolving sculpture, which changed daily, set out to educate the Australian public on the five crucial signs people need to look for as signs of potential skin cancer: Asymmetry, Border, colour, diameter and evolution. A QR code at the sculpture allowed people to book a free on-site skin check with more than 2,000 checks conducted and, of these: A quarter were found to have a suspicious mole, with an alarmingly 22 people found to have melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer . We took The Spot to Canberra and gave Parliament House melanoma for Melanoma Skin Cancer Advocacy Network's start of summer BBQ, offering skin checks for key decision-makers, making sure the critical need for action on skin cancer was heard loud and clear. The Spot’s appearance at Parliament House was attended by more than 100 key political decision-makers.
The work reached a global audience of 2 million, in addition to the thousands of in person attendees.