'Submerged Meadow' 
@ The Seattle Aquarium
Feb 4 - March 14, 2022

Submerged Meadow is a video and sound installation that explores life in the nearshore habitat. Using underwater models, underwater video footage, and animation the installation imagines an underwater sanctuary where ocean life can thrive. Eelgrass beds and kelp forests become nurseries of the sea. By highlighting these critical environments and the many species that live and grow there, the installation draws connections between the health of all species, humankind included. 

 

Submerged Meadow highlights a few species in particular: Salmon, Resident Southern Killer Whales, and Giant Pacific Octopus. These species' livelihoods are closely linked, and have faced challenges due to human development of coastal areas, pollution and habitat destruction. By improving nearshore habitat, we can improve habitat for these species. Increased Salmon stocks are one factor that could help the Southern Resident Killer Whales have a better chance at thriving. In addition, we need a decrease in noise pollution, shipping traffic, and other pollutants in the water to improve a complex web of factors that have threatened Orca whales. By carefully considering where and how the coastline is developed, we can prevent further habitat destruction for the Octopus.

 

The installation includes recordings of Southern Resident Killer Whales, underwater video footage of Puget Sound nearshore, images of salmon eggs, octopus eggs and more. It is my hope that Submerged Meadow allows us to meditate on the value of the underwater environment that is often overlooked, and to inspire better care of nearshore underwater environments in the Puget Sound and beyond.

 

Including Footage by Dennis Ball. 

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This project was created during the 2021 AICAD/NOAA Fisheries Art and Science Fellowship. 

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Photography by Chris Scarborough