The artist: Noise Aquarium (which will be shown simultaneously this weekend at ARS Electronica in Austria) is a collaborative project of UCLA professor and sci-artist, Victoria Vesna, and scientist and head of Science Visualization Lab of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Alfred Vendl. The computer animations are created by Martina Fröschl and the installation setup by Glenn Bristol.

About the art: Noise Aquarium spotlights animated 3D models of plankton obtained with scientific imaging techniques. The artist projects the plankton as large as whales inside the Space Cloud. Vesna works with biologists, chemists, nano-toxicologists and an animator toward a common goal – to raise consciousness about the underwater pollution that threatens the biodiversity of our most precious and life-giving resource: the oceans of the world. The installation shows the effect of noise pollution on planktons. A booth and yellow line similar to border crossing is used as a metaphor — representing a line that humanity should not cross to indicate the sanctuary in which plankton should be left alone

The artistic team states, “The ecological crisis is a human crisis. Oceans must not be considered as flat blue surfaces, as dropping holes where we can let vanish all our anthropogenic remains. There are still amounts of organisms living down there though they suffer pain from our waste and noise. Many are aware of the large fish, the whales and dolphins and much of the discussion is about the chemical and waste pollution. But often ignored is the invisible and the inaudible (to us) and we enlarge the planktons to be like whales and amplify the noise as participants move closer to the animations.”

PASEO location: The Space Cloud in Kit Carson Park

Sponsors: Andrea Szekeres and Taos Land and Film