We are psyched to announce the release of a series of skateboard decks in collaboration with MIA Skate Shop featuring the photography of three different fluorescent corals that call Miami their home. The collaboration is a logical extension of our view of Miami as the Coral City. A city whose cement buildings are metaphorical monuments to the fossilized remains of an ancient coral reef that once ran through it. Skaters will now be able to skate through a city of coral (recycled as concrete) on boards that reflect its bio-geologic past, present, and future. Miami, a city where vertebrate and invertebrate life-forms are forever bonded through calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate skeletons that were once enveloped with fluorescent coral tissue now form the foundation for a neon metropolis that mirrors its coral reefs. A metropolis with an Atlantean destiny, where corals will one day recolonize the streets and buildings as their own.

The limited edition decks (3 color-ways, hand numbered editions of 50) will be available starting Saturday, May 25 at the release party, and at both MIA shops in Miami Beach and Sunny Isles, Florida.

‘Tombstone (prototype)’ (close up)

From April 13 – May 4 we will have ‘Tombstone (prototype)’, our new installation, on exhibition at Swampspace in the Design District of Miami. The piece consists of a projection of Colpophyllia natans thrown onto a keystone screen of its own fossilized ancestors, set upon concrete blocks, they themselves comprised of calcium derived from ancient Floridian reefs.

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For the opening event of this year’s Borscht Film Festival, Coral Morphologic was commissioned to curate a night of underwater films at the New World Symphony SoundScape Park on Miami Beach. At 7,00 Square-feet, the NWS WallCast is the largest projection wall in North America, and is accompanied by a state-of-the-art immersive sound system. This night will feature the first-ever screening of our Natural History series from 2009-2011 in its entirety, followed by the world premiere of a new film, Into the Cosmic Flower Garden. The event is outdoors and tickets are free – bring your sensory perceptions, and enjoy the experience.

We are proud to unveil our newest series of coral art films the week of Art Basel Miami Beach as part of our ongoing ‘Aquacultural Transformation‘ project on the video wall in the Southeast Financial Building (200 S Biscayne Blvd. Miami). By introducing living textures of corals into the lobby of the tallest commercial building in Florida, we aim to create an atmosphere of relaxation and contemplation in an otherwise hectic business environment.

On Sunday, December 2nd at 3pm, Colin will be giving a talk entitled ‘Miami’s Urban Corals’ at the Miami Science Museum for their 2nd annual Miami Underwater Festival. While many people might presume that North Biscayne Bay is too dirty to support much diversity of marinelife, Colin will present evidence quite to the contrary. Using underwater video and photographs, Colin will give attendees an up close look at the surprising diversity of corals that have pioneered their way inside the city limits of Miami by colonizing artificial seawalls and manmade debris.

Four Floridian zoanthids analyzed in our study. Clockwise from Top Left: 1) Undescribed Zoanthus aff. pulchellus 2) Undescribed Palythoa aff. variabilis 3) Zoanthus solanderi 4) Undescribed Terrazoanthus sp.

Recently, we spearheaded a study of the Zoanthids found in our local nearshore waters that has been published in the Journal of Marine Biology titled “Species Diversity of Shallow Water Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) in Florida” with Dr. James Reimer and Yuka Irei of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan. This is the first comprehensive study of its kind, analyzing DNA to determine the taxonomic authenticity of our local zoanthid species. We discovered that there are as many as four species of zoanthids in South Florida that have been overlooked by scientists until now.

Despite their ubiquitousness in shallow tropical waters, zoanthids have been largely neglected by marine biologists who have otherwise been more focused on understanding reef-building stony corals, leaving the taxonomy of tropical zoanthids vague and out of date. This, combined with the natural morphologic variability of these animals, makes physical identification difficult for the casual observer. The advent of DNA analysis has allowed for an accurate picture to emerge, and it is clear that there is much more diversity than had previously been recorded.

We are proud to present (in collaboration with O, Miami Poetry Festival) an original 5-Poem split 7″ featuring 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith and L.A. Times Book Prize-finalist Gabrielle Calvocoressi. A limited edition of 200 records was pressed, with each cover hand-painted as an original multiple by Miami artist Nicolas Lobo.

On Thursday, September 20th, at 8:30 p.m., we’ll unveil the record at Lester’s in Wynwood. Copies will be available for sale for $25. The record is also available to buy online here.