Featured Event
Noise Aquarium
3D Visual Experience of Plankton in Noise Pollution
The ecological crisis is a human crisis. Oceans must not be considered as flat blue surfaces which serve as dropping holes where we can let vanish all our anthropogenic remains. There are vast amounts of organisms that live down there and some suffer pain from our waste and noise. Many are aware of mammals such as whales and dolphins and there have been discussions about the chemical and waste pollution. But – often ignored is the invisible and the inaudible environment to us that is deeply secluded. Therefore, in this installation, we have created 3D enlarged plankton to be like whales. In addition, we amplify the noise as participants move closer to the animations to simulate how these organisms might experience and perceive this anthropogenic noise. This is a highly interdisciplinary artist led effort with biologists, chemists, nano-toxicologists and an animator all working together towards a common goal – to raise consciousness.Plankton serve as one of the primary basis of the marine food chain and are as a result a crucial component of the Earth‘s ecosystem. Current literature and studies have demonstrated how different noise sources influence large marine life with striking examples such as images of stranded whales and dolphins. However, little have highlighted the possible impact on marvelous microscopic organisms such as plankton. Noise Aquarium spotlights animated 3D-models obtained with scientific imaging techniques of the extremely diverse plankton spectrum.
Project Description
Generally, anthropogenic xenobiotic pollution of the seas is widely known. Project Noise Aquarium is dealing with unnatural noise in the oceans as a further environmental issue. This project offers a species-rich bizarre idyll as well as visual attractiveness, thus evoking interest and attention for these important creatures and their disturbance through noise pressure waves. Noise Aquarium aims to awaken awareness for biodiversity and introduces a collection of accurate 3D-models as a resource for scientific and artistic research. The academic and creative potential of a cooperation, as it was developed for this project, is rarely to be found. All participants first had to learn to go beyond their field of expertise and communicate with experts from other subjects. In order to reveal our way to collaborate and the various materials used in this project, we first will briefly summarize the artistic and scientific challenges that a project on plankton and noise pollution entails.
Then, the effort of the data collection, analysis and the final technical and artistic processing in computer animation will be outlined. The project’s emerging presentations will happen in multifaceted ways, as varied places and time add context as project presentation parameters that influence the events. The Noise Aquarium is as organic as the organisms that are subject of discussion, therefore it will grow gradually and develop with each further presentation. We aim to show the content in various interactive and linear installations and gather all kinds of information, reference material and, of course, 3D-data of the organisms.
