Plankton
Microscopic plankton, often overlooked due to their invisibility, play a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. Plankton are at the bottom of the food chain, nourishing other marine species up the food web, including fish and crustaceans. They also produce a significant portion of the oxygen we breathe. Without plankton, we could not survive.
Understanding the marine environment of plankton therefore is an essential part of understanding the health of our own environment. What are nutrients that plankton need to survive, and what by-products of plankton life cycles change the chemistry of the ocean waters where they live? How can non-scientists even begin to think about the many variables of this complex environment when the most essential components are mostly unseen, and can only be measured with scientific instruments?
In this series of artistic imagery we put forth some of the intertwined data in a visual context that is more alluring than the usual graphs and data charts. Our intention is to give the viewer the opportunity to ponder the layers of interconnected elements in the context of the slow observation that comes from contemplating a painting or other artwork. Not all of the variables are in a given image, and the selection is somewhat arbitrary. Too much information would detract from the objective of simply pulling viewers into contemplation that there is more to the marine environment than what they can experience through direct observation. From microscopic life to the the density of salt, it is all important, and all worthy of a moment of reflection.
