In visual representations, oceans are often shown as blue, empty fields or voids. Ocean Connections aims to instil these unseen spaces with stories and movement, to discover a kinship to life in the oceans.
The project investigates processes within ecosystems which are influenced by ocean flows. Whilst focusing specifically on the Oslofjord environment in Norway, the title Ocean Connections points to interconnectedness of all oceans. We cannot really tell where the Oslofjord ends, as it runs into Skagerrak and joins the North Sea which then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Employing a combined means of storytelling, the work aims for an immersive, circular experience of biodiversity and ecological connections on a global scale.
The resulting artwork is a two-channel video installation, formulated and constructed from an experimental scientific and artistic dialogue and mode of collaboration, combining mathematical modelling, scientific data about ocean movements and ecological conditions, and artistic storytelling through animation and visuality.
2 channel video installation with sound, 4K resolution, 05:45 min
Kristin Bergaust | Guillermo García-Sánchez & Evangelos Voukouvalas
With the generous support of the European Commission's department on Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
- Residency Project: https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/ocean-connections
- Presentation of Residency @ JRC: https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/video-thumbnails/2023-06/oceans%20x%20-%20Large%20540p.mp4
- Ocean Connections website: https://www.bergaustvideo.net/ocean-connections
With thanks to:
Eli Rinde PhD marine biologist, senior researcher
NIVA Norwegian Research institute for water and the environment. Conversations and exchange of information about the state of the Oslo fjord since 2016
Professor emeritus Lars Peter Røed, Norwegian Meteorological Institute for data on the Oslo fjord
Institute of Marine Research photographs of Phytoplankton
Lars Naustvoll Research Scientist for information about phytoplankton bloom
FeLT project of OsloMet- Oslo Metropolitan University
Oslofjord Ecologies- Boel Christensen-Scheel, Venke Aure, Rasa Smite RIXC and contributing artists
Oslofjord Triennial: Camilla Dahl, Vibeke Hermanrud, Linn Ulvin, Mari Lassen Kamsvaag, Sidsel Aas
Historical illustrations by Ernst Haeckel
Artist and landscape architect Elin T. Sørensen PhD
Ana María Mancho, Principal Investigator CSIC for pioneering the foundations of Lagrangian Descriptors
Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT) for their support
Digital Earth Solutions S.L for their support
Joint Research Centre: Luc Feyen, Peter Salamon, Tom De Groeve, SciArt team, Big Data Analytics Platform. Nikos Kalligeris, Maria Kougioumtzi.