Embodied Pacific: Ocean Unseen

Embodied Pacific

Seeing the Unseen at Birch Aquarium

Embodied Pacific: Ocean Unseen invites you to explore Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Indigenous science through the eyes of contemporary artists. These installations offer guests the chance to engage in scientific exploration through immersive, interactive experiences. Collectively, the exhibition asks us to consider how ocean science technology is not just about “high-tech” but also very much about the tools we use to shape our understanding of the ocean’s unseen mysteries. Eighteen artists across 10 projects come together in one immersive exhibition.

Archival footage from the 1992 Hall of Fishes plays on a screen to create a “virtual aquarium” that highlights the evolution of the aquarium's efforts to bring the ocean to the public.

Archiving an Aquarium

Hans Baumann and James Nisbet + Birch Aquarium

Birch Aquarium uses technology to pump, filter and adjust seawater for its animals, simulating a real ocean experience. In this installation, artists Hans Baumann and James Nisbet explore how this technology shapes our understanding of ocean ecologies. Using archival footage and blueprints from the 1992 Hall of Fishes they create a “virtual aquarium” that highlights the evolution of the aquarium's efforts to bring the ocean to the public.

Fish Phone Booth

Ash Eliza Smith & Robert Twomey

Ash Eliza Smith and Robert Twomey create an interactive audio and sensory media experience where storytelling meets a guided sound bath. This project brings research from ocean acoustics and the internet of animals to life, translating data from outside the limits of human perception into bodily and sonic experiences. This project was prototyped in collaboration with La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival.

A guest finds joy with this interactive audio and sensory media experience where storytelling meets a guided sound bath.

A human-sized sculpture, shaped by the acoustic fingerprints of key zooplankton species, create their own ecosystem—making the invisible visible, audible, and touchable.

How to Look Into the Ocean

Claudine Arendt + Zooglider

Zooglider is an underwater robot created by Scripps Oceanography to study zooplankton in its natural habitat. Zooglider observes zooplankton optically through shadowgraph images and acoustically by sending soundwaves into the water and measuring the echo that is returned. Claudine Arendt’s human-sized sculptures, shaped by the acoustic fingerprints of key zooplankton species, create their own ecosystem—making the invisible visible, audible, and touchable.

Kumeyaay Ha Kwaiyo

Stan Rodriguez with Priscilla Ortiz, Andrew Pittman and Nan Renner

In the Ha Kwaiyo installation, a mid-size tule boat (by Priscilla Ortiz) hangs above guests, as if floating on the ocean surface. A nearby film by Andrew James Pittman tells the behind-the-scenes story of how boatmaking embodies Indigenous resilience, resistance and revival.

A mid-size tule boat hangs above guests, as if floating on the ocean surface.

This installation highlights the biodiversity of La Jolla’s marine ecosystems, blending cyanotype creation and traditional Japanese Gyotaku fish printing techniques.

La Jolla Forest

Dwight Hwang and Oriana Poindexter + Mohammad Sedarat of the Smith Laboratory

La Jolla Forest is an immersive artwork created by Oriana Poindexter and Dwight Hwang to highlight both the beauty and the fragility of Giant Kelp. The installation draws attention to the biodiversity of La Jolla’s marine ecosystems by blending their expertise in cyanotype creation and traditional Japanese Gyotaku fish printing.

Mosaic Ocean

Judit Hersko + Jaffe Laboratory

In Mosaic Ocean, Judit Hersko explores the diversity of zooplankton by blending traditional and cutting-edge technology. In this installation, guests view images of plankton through the portals of multiple stereographic lenses, a plankton-observation methodology developed by Scripps Oceanography researcher Jules Jaffe.

guests view images of plankton through the portals of multiple stereographic lenses, a plankton-observation methodology

Our Worlds

Catherine Eng and Kilma Lattin

Our Worlds is an immersive storytelling application by Catherine Eng and Kilma Lattin that uses augmented reality technology to overlay interactive Indigenous narratives onto real-world locations. Through this app, guests will unlock stories, videos and 3D models of tule boats and Kumeyaay oceangoing stories, narrated by Embodied Pacific artist and educator Stan Rodriguez.

Passengers of Change

Danielle McHaskell, Joe Riley and Audrey Snyder + the Smith Laboratory

An invasive species can act as both a “driver” and a “passenger” in ecosystems. In this collaboration with marine ecologist Danielle McHaskell, the artists investigate whether global shipping has turned the algae Wakame into a major invasive species. Guests will explore how human trade affects marine ecosystems and reflect on our role in this process.

Guests standing in front of a colorful mural depicting algae and scientific research at

A large-scale triptych video artwork to take us inside the recently decommissioned vessel through new and archival footage.

R/P FLIP R.I.P

Rachel Mayeri + FLIP

The FLoating Instrument Platform (FLIP) debuted in 1963 as a first-of-its-kind strategy for understanding ocean water columns. To shed light on FLIP’s second act as a marine acoustics platform, Rachel Mayeri – in collaboration with humanities scholars Deborah Forster and David Serlin and Scripps staff – produced a large-scale triptych video artwork to take us inside the recently decommissioned vessel through new and archival footage.

Superradiance. Embodying Earth.

Memo Akten and Katie Peyton Hofstader + SOARS

Superradiance. Embodying Earth. is a data dramatization of complex ocean simulations, distilled and re-imagined in the form of abstract visuals and sounds inspired by the Scripps Ocean Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS). SOARS is a 120-foot-long wave tank researchers use to replicate and study air and sea interactions under controlled laboratory conditions.

A guest stands in front of a data dramatization of complex ocean simulations, distilled and re-imagined in the form of abstract visuals and sounds inspired by the Scripps Ocean Atmosphere Research Simulator

A digitization and visualization of key coral reef environments over time

Unbleached

Scott McAvoy + Sandin and Smith Laboratories

Unbleached was created in collaboration with the Sandin and Smith Labs, archaeologist Dominique Rissolo and the 100 Island Challenge: a Scripps Oceanography collaboration which involves the digitization and visualization of key coral reef environments over time.

Featured Artists

Scott McAvoy is an expert in 3D modeling, data processing and reconstruction, working in the fields of archaeology, oceanography, and medicine. He is known for his sea turtle prosthetic project, reconstructions of ISIS destroyed sites in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, and his ongoing data visualization and modeling work with the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology and Cyprus University of Technology’s Digital Heritage Lab.

Memo Akten is a multimedia artist and researcher whose work merges art, science, and technology. He explores human and machine creativity through installations, video, and interactive experiences. Akten’s projects delve into the complexities of perception and consciousness, inviting audiences to reflect on the relationship between humans and technology.

Katie Peyton Hofstader is a Los Angeles-based writer, curator, and artist-organizer exploring artists’ roles in shaping present and future systems. Her curated exhibition, LIFELIKE, is viewable at epoch.gallery and opens at Vellum / LA on March 16, moving to Cal Poly University in late fall-winter 2023. She co-founded #MakeUsVisible and the Climate Clock monument, and leads Future Art Models at apexart. Hofstadter contributes to Flash Art, The Believer, BOMB, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and Right Click Save, and has taught at Parsons and F.I.T.

Judit Hersko is an installation artist who works in the intersection of art and science. She collaborates with scientists on visualizing climate change science through art and narrative. In 2008 she spent six weeks in Antarctica as the recipient of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Grant.

Claudine Arendt is a Luxembourgish artist based in Amsterdam. She performs and exhibits in public space, has presented at science and ceramics conferences, and collaborates with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She received her B.F.A from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and an M.A. in European Film and Media Studies from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Currently she has her studio at Het Domijn.

Stan Rodriguez (Santa Ysabel Band of the Iipay Nation) is an educator, language teacher, and tribal singer. He is an advocate for his community’s culture and traditions and serves in a number of advising and teaching roles in the San Diego and Native Kumeyaay communities.

Priscilla Ortiz is a Kumeyaay boat builder known for her work in reviving traditional Kumeyaay boat-building techniques. She focuses on crafting canoes using indigenous methods and materials, preserving and promoting Kumeyaay cultural heritage through her craftsmanship.

Andrew Pittman (Los Coyotes Nation, Warner Springs) is a filmmaker whose work amplifies cultural narratives and social issues. Known for his powerful storytelling and visual artistry, he explores themes of identity, resilience, and community. Pittman’s films celebrate Indigenous perspectives, fostering understanding and connection through cinema.

Danielle McHaskell is a PhD student in marine biology studying non-native and invasive seaweed species. Her particular interest is in mechanisms of establishment within and potential impact on the native community within our local temperate ecosystems, focusing especially on kelp forests and the intertidal zone.

Joe Riley is an artist, researcher, sailor, and PhD student in Art History and Art Practice at University of California San Diego, where he also participates in the Program for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research broadly considers how the oceans have long been a source of cultural and visual techniques that mediate the co-production of human and nonhuman worlds.

Audrey Snyder is a visual artist who explores themes of ecology, labor, and community. Her work combines sculpture, installation, and collaborative projects to address environmental and social issues, aiming to foster connections and conversations around sustainability and collective action.

Oriana Poindexter is a visual artist and marine scientist whose work blends photography and scientific research. She explores the intersection of art and marine conservation, using her images to highlight the beauty and fragility of ocean ecosystems. Poindexter aims to inspire environmental stewardship through her captivating visual narratives.

Dwight Hwang is an artist specializing in Gyotaku, the traditional Japanese art of fish printing. Combining meticulous technique with a deep respect for nature, Hwang creates lifelike prints that celebrate marine life. His work bridges art and science, capturing the intricate details and beauty of aquatic creatures.

Catherine Eng is an award-winning designer, developer, and filmmaker. She is CTO and Co-Founder of Our Worlds, holds a BFA from Cooper Union, and has created popular apps with over 3MM downloads. She founded Design Code Build, taught digital media, and innovates in extended reality and STEM education for Native American communities.

Kilma Lattin, a La Jolla native and UCSB graduate, is a former Army aviation officer and Soldier’s Medal recipient. He served on the Pala Indian Tribe Executive Committee, oversaw significant tribal projects, and produced an Emmy- winning documentary. Lattin holds an MBA from USC and has executive education from Harvard.

Hans Baumann is a Swiss-American artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His work reflects upon ecological collapse, the dynamics of climate change, and the materiality of energy

James Nisbet is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Art History and Ph.D. Program in Visual Studies at the University of California, Irvine, and Director of the Environmental Humanities Research Center. He has published widely on the history and theory of ecocritical visual art and aesthetics from late modernism to the present.

Rachel Mayeri is a Los Angeles-based artist working at the intersection of science and art. Her videos, installations, and writing projects explore topics ranging from the history of special effects to the human animal. Shown at Los Angeles Filmforum, The Center for Art and Media in Germany, and P.S.1/MoMA in New York, she is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Harvey Mudd College.

Ash Eliza Smith is an artist and designer who uses storytelling, worldbuilding, and speculative design to shape new realities. Smith works across art and science, between fact and fiction, and with human and non-human agents such as animals, plants, and machines to re-imagine the past and future of technology and ecosystems.

Robert Twomey is an artist and engineer whose work merges robotics, artificial intelligence, and interactive media. He explores the human-machine relationship, creating installations and performances that provoke thought about technology’s impact on society and individual identity.

Exhibits

Embodied Pacific: Ocean Unseen