W§NDER

"Scientists transform the unknown into the known, haul it in like fishermen; artists get you out into that dark sea..."

-Rebecca Solnik A Field Guide to Getting Lost

plankton phytoplankton Zooplankton Surf surf fellowship science bioart art and science Steam stem Priscilla Ahn priscilla nicolas baird nature lab gigapixel imaging

Hubble Deep Field from Hubble Space Telescope

Veligers taken with RISD stereomicroscope

The National Science Foundation established the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) to advance rigorous, innovative scientific research and development throughout the United States. As part of Rhode Island Summer Undergraduate Research Program, I (BFA FD + BA Geological Sc. '17), Nicolas Baird (BA Science and Society + BA Visual Arts '14), and David Kim (MFA Digital + Media '14) under the guidance of the Director of the RISD Nature Lab, Neal Overstrom, represented a unique artistic perspective in the science community--visualizing scientific information through an experiential and engaging exhibition.

Our contribution to marine research is a visual gallery to help visitors empathize with plankton (derived from "planktos" or "wanderer"), microorganisms fundamental to marine life. Through gigapixel stitching technology, interactive elements, and installations, the progression of the exhibit was to bridge the size gap, a primary barrier that causes desensitization and detachment despite the mindboggling ubiquity, diversity, and significance of phyto- and zoo- plankton.

Scientific Poster imbedded with three iPads presented at SURF Conference

Scientific Paper

Waterman Gallery Floor Plan made in Illustrator

First Room- Actual scale

process photos, panoramas of our collecting locations

Neal Overstrom and Nicolas Baird

Plankton Collecting Kit

Me pulling out a plankton net on a windy day

Nicolas Baird at India Point Park

Plankton pass through two plankton nets as they passively flow with the current

Silhouette of a crab zoea zooplankton can be found at bottom right of jar

Me looking at ctenophores under the stereomicroscope in RISD Nature Lab microscope facilities

First attempt at gigapixel stitching on photoshop of tilia stem cross-section

Second Room- Human Scale

large posters of stitched zooplankton, podium exhibiting four ipads (zoomable white field + dark field quilts of phyto- and zoo-plankton, white field video, and dark field video), containers filled with plankton as gifts for visitors