Design students feature in SubAqueous exhibition
Exploring our ocean and the detrimental effects of climate change and pollution, a Colombian artist and 45 students from the Bachelor of Design Computing will exhibit in SubAqueous.
SubAqueous is a month-long film installation which challenges misconceptions about the health of today’s oceans.
The exhibition - curated by Dr Caitilin de Bérigny, Senior Lecturer, in the Sydney School of Architecture and created by Colombian artist Sylvana Alferez, and the students from the University of Sydney - features interviews by leading environmentalists, scientists and academics working to help preserve the future of our oceans.
“This is an important exhibition that highlights serious problems facing the health of reefs and oceans, offering insight into what we can do to overcome these challenges” said de Bérigny.
“The experience gave students the opportunity to work on a real-world problems and gain insights from renowned environmentalists” she added.
There are 16 films featured in the exhibition which explore the pressing issues facing our reefs, ocean and the marine organisms that inhabit them.
"It was an eye-opening experience to interview someone who was so passionate about their work,” said Andrew Nguyen Le, Design Computing student. “We met with Associate Professor Adriana Vergès, who has been working hard to restore cray weed along the NSW coastline to create a habitat for hundreds of different species. The discussion gave us an alarming awareness of the reality of climate change, as well as added motivation to make a film that reflected the urgency of the issue. It was really challenging and fun to find the narrative from the footage and distill it down.”
SubAqueous was driven by the urgent need to address ocean plastic pollution. The exhibition ultimately aims to raise awareness and inspire environmental advocacy and action.
"It was a highly rewarding experience,” said Andrew Daoyang Xing, Design Computing student. We're very happy with the final product and wouldn't have done it without the help of our teachers Caitilin and Nat."
“Working with such a unique artist such as Marina Debris was insightful and inspiring, especially to see her passions shine through her works of "trashion" (trash and fashion).”
“Like many others, she desired to make the earth a cleaner place, but her eccentric means of doing so offers an incredibly fresh and unusual perspective.”