For this project, the prompt to create an ‘atmospheric short story’. Once submitted, the second part of the project was to design an environment and atmosphere for an animal of our choosing, that would best represent our short story. I decided to experiment with the concepts of light, the concept of separation through different “hemispheres” and the mindlessness of brine shrimp.

 

An important aspect in creating the environment was the use of materials that would work well with light and would transform the atmosphere beyond that of simply its material. Choosing to build my own fish tank, I used glass panes, tin solder, copper foil, and aluminum foil to create the fish tank. Separating the tanks into four “hemispheres” allowed independent movement and interaction between the water and brine shrimp within the different hemispheres, connected by raised glass passageways.

 

The brine shrimp are not very good swimmers and thus require water pumps to circulate the water flow of shrimp. However, brine shrimp are extremely attracted to light, so by turning off all the lights in the room, and shining a singular light into the fish tank, stimulated the brine shrimp to gather and swarm towards the light. Watching the shrimp become attracted to the light and try to swim towards it from other “hemispheres” was very satisfying and intentional.