About Toothfish

Toothfish is a fictional environmental activist cum street artist who uses posters to raise awareness of environmental/political issues which affect you.

The first poster - ‘The War Against Nature Is Over’ - appeared in late 2010. This enigmatic image has now appeared on walls in over forty countries around the globe. What is the war against nature? Who fought? Who won? And why is the sheep smiling like that(or is it a goat)? 

The summit of Aiguille du Medi - part of the Mount Blanc masiff - French Alps - Photo taken July 2015

The next poster ‘You Are An Animal’ was released in early 2011.  Are you a human or an animal? I'm definitely an animal. The challenge is to be a better one! 

New York - USA - October 2011

‘Selling Your Future?’ appeared late in 2011. Aimed to support the 'Occupy Movement', it appeared at 'Occupy' sites around the world including Zuccotti Park in New York and St Paul’s in London. This poster asked why people were letting their political leaders sell their children's futures. It's not one of our better posters. 

Vote Plankton only appeared in New Zealand to coincide with the election campaign in late 2011. Shame it didn't win!

‘There Is No Money’ (and it's successor - 'Sold' )was launched in Luxembourg and Paris in April of 2012  Since then they've appeared on the walls of financial institutions and money machines all over the world.

Tesco Riot Scene - Bristol - England - August 2013

In late 2012 - We are Watching You - started its world tour. Is the chicken another righteous god of nature judging you for your crimes or is it a comment on the ever increasing levels of surveillance which have become part of our lives?

The chicken appears in a supermarket in Mount Mauganui in New Zealand - August 2014

Two thousand and thirteen saw the release of the poster simply entitled 'Toothfish'. Just what is a Toothfish and why have they become the symbol of the fight to save ‘The Last Ocean’? 

Toothfish - Paris - France - July 2013

In 2014 Toothfish got involved in the New Zealand election (again) with a poster depicting the Prime Minister, John Key, looking like a cashist. Some people didn't like it. Three more posters satirizing John Key followed. We also 'adapted' a few National party billboards.

The John Key Government is Always Right

Bleeding Heart John Key Jesus

At the same time Toothfish also released a much more positive poster which simply exhorted the people to VOTE! No-one knows who the man in the picture is or who took the original photo. 

VOTE - Hamilton - New Zealand - September 2014

This man had cancer. He liked the poster. He said it was important for people to vote.

In 2016 the Fish God returned to its pantheistic roots with the poster - There Is No God But You. Is there a god? Is it you? Is it me? Or is it a fox? 

In 2017 Toothfish asked the question - Would we radically and symbolically end our lives if we thought it might help to wake people up about what we're doing to the planet. Since this piece came out two people have actually done that very thing. Did this extreme 'global warning' help wake people up? No! And how many people even know their names? IN 2018 David Buckel set himself on fire in New York in 2018 and Wynn Bruce followed in 2022. 

By 2018 Toothfish was totally fed up. No progress was being made to mitigate climate change and the 'Extinction' poster was released. This was before Extinction Rebellion had started and we maintain we were one of the first groups to put human extinction on the table as a real and imminent possibility. 

Not long after that the collective started producing posters for Extinction Rebellion and have been doing so ever since. Mostly we're not even putting our name to them. Here's just a few of the many we have produced. 

If you'd like one of our posters you can go to the shop and buy a signed limited edition one (100 prints only per image) one on heavyweight satin paper or you can contact us and we will send you the PDF and you can print them out yourself. 

Extinct Animals #1

Demons are the Ghosts of Extinct Animals 

Rebel For Life

David Needs You!

Baby's First Environmental Collapse