The Immersion Project


Mississippi Aquarium
Gulfport, Mississippi

Funders

NOAA
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
U.S. Department of Interior

Collaborators

Scientists: Erik Cordes & Mandy Joye
Artists: Christine Lee, Malte Leander, Rebecca Rutstein, Austin Camille Weymueller

A collaboration between artists and scientists, this permanent, multi-sensory installation of sculpture, sound and augmented reality sheds light on some of the restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. One of the key resources damaged was the deep-sea coral ecosystem, a place that is distantly removed from our everyday experience and yet vitally necessary for life on earth. Cold-water corals sequester carbon, recycle nutrients, and provide habitat for countless species of marine life. The undulating forms of the sculptures are inspired by cold water corals endemic to the Gulf of Mexico. The layered soundscape ebbs and flows with the buzz of the coral ecosystem coming back to life. The hand-painted augmented reality experience creates a dynamic layer depicting a potential ecosystem recovery over hundreds of years.

Restoration has never been attempted in the deep sea at this scale, so the work being done by experts to restore these habitats is ground-breaking. Coral scientists are working in federal labs, and partner aquariums like Mississippi Aquarium, to raise some of the cold-water coral species most impacted by the spill and learn more about how they grow and reproduce. At the deep-sea sites, they may even test artificial structures, similar to these coral-inspired sculptures, to act as a skeleton to enhance growth in these important underwater communities.Years in the making, this project was made possible through generous funding from NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the US Department of the Interior.