Artists Statement

Animation, 2015, 2’13”, ISEA2016 Hong Kong Open Sky Project Honorable Mention

Antarctica Underwater is largely constructed from incidental footage collected in icy cold Antarctic waters, hundreds of meters below the surface, as a seal bumped into an underwater camera and a serene jellyfish floated by, as did a ctenophore. Woven into these videos are the microscopic plankton comprising the primary focus of the Oceanographic researchers: barely visible shrimp-like krill, (food for seals, penguins and whales), and the microscopic plankton that produce half the oxygen in our environment. This work is intended as a subtle reminder that Antarctica is part of our world and life there is essential for our survival.

Collaborators:  researchers in M-D lab, U of Rhode Island
Sound credit : Bob Gluck

• Cynthia Beth Rubin (b. 1950, Rochester NY) is a new media artist based in New Haven, CT, USA, with a studio practice extending from New York City to Narragansett, RI.  Rubin is a gradate of Antioch College, in Ohio (BA), and the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MFA). cbrubin.net
• Susanne Menden-Deuer, researchers in M-D lab, University of Rhode Island, USA. Dr. Menden-Deuer is a seagoing oceanographer, with research interests focused on marine planktonic food web structure and function. web.uri.edu/gso/meet/susanne-menden-deuer