We are proud to announce the forthcoming physical release of our album Coral Morphologic 1 via Miami’s best, Terrestrial Funk. To celebrate, have a listen to the single version of ‘Endless Love’. The vinyl LP includes a foldout poster featuring album artwork by Robert Beatty. Secure your copy @ https://terrestrialfunk.com/products/coral-morphologic-coral-morphologic-1-tf008
We are proud to present Coral City Flourotour, our first short film in 3 years, and our first in-ocean filming project using techniques developed in the CM lab / studio. Coral City Flourotour documents the highly fluorescent corals living near the Coral City Camera site at PortMiami.
These urban corals are not just survivors, but pioneers who have self-recruited to the boulder shoreline deployed to the Port in 2010. Some of the larger brain corals featured were previously transplanted from other urban habitats by Miami-Dade County DERM. Coral Morphologic has documented 27 of Florida’s 48 stony coral species living at this site, as well as more than 170 species of fish documented via the CCC.
Critically endangered staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) were transplanted to the site in June 2021 by University of Miami’s Rescue a Reef program. The fluorescence survey conducted in this film revealed they’ve activated fluorescent proteins which are not normally expressed in offshore waters. Scientists from UM and NOAA are now seeking to understand what changes these corals have undergone adapting to life in such an anthropogenically-altered environment, as it may have larger implications related to the restoration of Floridian and Caribbean reefs. Recently published research by NOAA has discovered the corals living in these urbanized environments have made important adaptations that enable them to thrive in Miami’s coastal waters.
Special Thanks to Bridge Initiative, Bas Fisher Invitational, PortMiami, Biscayne Bay Pilots, Miami-Dade County, NOAA AOML, Rescue a Reef
We are excited to be included in ‘Un lago de jade verde‘ – the inaugural exhibition by the Institute for Postnatural Studies. Our film Natural History Redux will be on display as part of the show from October 14, 2021 – March 13, 2022. The exhibition is located on the 5th floor of the CentroCentro cultural center in Madrid, Spain.
“A Green Jade Lake is envisioned as an experiential journey that invites the visitor to wander through its different rooms and landscapes and to reflect on the idea of nature in the contemporary moment. In a situation of ecological fragility, we need to rethink the relationships and flows that are established between humans, ecosystems and their environments, and to take into consideration the new complexities that exist between the natural and the artificial.
Taking the image of a forest as its starting point, as the threshold beyond which categories become entwined, the exhibition includes experience, fiction, artistic work and research to allow us to explore new ways in which we can interact with the planet. Addressing different subjects such as coexistence, botany, territorial policies or the aesthetics associated with the representation of nature, the exhibition is understood as a constellation that creates open and transformative universes.
This exhibition proposes a new contemporary approach to nature in which all audiences, all bodies and all voices can participate.”
Artists: Coral Morphologic, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Fabian Knecht, Geocinema, Gerard Ortín Castellví, Jana Winderer, Jessica Sarah Rinland, Jonathas de Andrade, Lola Zoido, Maria Nolla, Mauricio Freyre, Michael Wang, Mónica Mays, Tomás Díaz Cedeño, Ursula Biemann, +
Update 1/13/22: View and download the ‘Un lago de jade verde’ exhibition book @ https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/Un_lago_de_jade_verde.pdf
Symmetrical Brain Coral (Pseuododiploria strigosa) emersed during low tide along the shoreline of PortMiami.
We found that the Symmetrical Brain Corals (Pseuododiploria strigosa) living in the urban environment (specifically alongside MacArthur Causeway and Star Island in Miami) were predominantly colonized by the Durusdinium sp. strain of symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that provides the coral with photosynthetic energy during daylight hours. Durusdinium is known to be a heat-tolerant genus of zooxanthellae, and has long been investigated by scientists seeking to create bleaching-resistant ‘super corals’. However, until this study, the Symmetrical Brain Coral had rarely been observed hosting this species of zooxanthellae elsewhere in the region, making these observations here in Miami quite remarkable.
Beyond the helpful symbionts, the Symmetrical Brain Corals living in the urban environment were also found to be producing proteins and enzymes known to identify and digest pathogenic invaders. These proteins could be a two-fold benefit to the coral since disease-causing microbes can be digested as food before they can infect the coral. The urban marine environments around Miami often have high concentrations of phytoplankton and turbidity in the water, along with high bacterial concentrations that frequently require ‘no swim’ public health advisories. The ability to capture and extract more energy from food could enhance its health and provide sustenance during times of bleaching.
These findings from a single species of urban coral in Miami’s coastal environment suggest further investigation is warranted in the variety of other reef-building species that have self-recruited to the City’s concrete and riprap shorelines. It also demonstrates how the human-made hydrogeologic conditions around PortMiami serve as an evolutionary gauntlet selecting for corals better adapted for life in the Anthropocene.
We are proud to unveil the Volcom x Coral Morphologic collection, a men’s / women’s clothing line featuring our flower anemone and brain coral photography blended with classic Volcom design. The collection explores the interface of land and sea, or surf zone, and is focused on surf and swimwear. With global coral reef habitats on the brink of ecological collapse, this collaboration was born out of a mutual desire to promote the restoration of coral reefs around the world.
The garments feature Eco True production, Volcom’s ongoing effort of turning sustainability commitments into actions with responsible manufacturing practices, better fiber sourcing, assessing impacts, and meaningful give backs. In addition to organic cotton and water-saving digital printing, the collection features Econyl®, a regenerated nylon yarn made from discarded fishing nets and other post consumer waste.
Shop the collection @ https://web.archive.org/web/20220509055324/https://www.volcom.com/collections/coral-morph
Jack Robinson in the tube, by Tai Vandyke.
We are grateful to present Coral Morphologic 2, an album of nine records inspired by the corals’ cosmic ability to synchronize their lives to Earth’s daily rotation upon its axis, the Moon’s monthly trip around Earth, and Earth’s yearly orbit of the Sun. CM 2 was written, produced, and mixed by Coral Morphologic and mastered by Adam McDaniel at Drop of Sun Studios, Asheville NC. The album features artwork by Robert Beatty, and the ‘Poster Edition‘ of the album includes an 18″ x 24″ poster version of the album art, while the ‘Print Edition‘ includes a set of nine 5″ x 5″ Coral Morphologic photographs representing each track on the album. Stream CM 2 via Spotify and pick up the album in digital and poster / print editions @ https://coralmorphologic.bandcamp.com/album/coral-morphologic-2
Update 10/2/20: Read an interview with the Miami New Times on CM 2.
We are psyched to share BBC Outlook has released an audio interview on the origins of Coral Morphologic and the long road to our latest project, the Coral City Camera. Listen @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08lqyzy and watch a feature on the CCC below.
Update 1/31/21: listen to an updated version of the BBC Outlook interview @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszf12 and read articles featuring the CCC from the Miami Herald, Pitchfork, NBC 6 South Florida, WLRN South Florida, and Miami New Times.
We are proud to announce the official launch of the Coral City Camera, an underwater camera streaming live from our joint urban coral research site with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program. Watch the CCC live at coralcitycamera.com, and for a soundtrack to accompany the view, listen to the Coral City Camera mix series.
We kicked off the launch with a party at Pérez Art Museum on the Miami waterfront. Romulo Del Castillo provided the Miami jams following a panel discussion led by National Geographic explorer Alizé Carrère featuring Colin, NOAA scientist Dr. Ian Enochs, and Miami Beach’s environment & sustainability director Elizabeth Wheaton.
Massive Thanks to our CCC collaborators Bridge Initiative and Bas Fisher Invitational, NOAA’s AOML Coral Program, Reuben Molinares, who created the CCC website with art by Brian Butler, and the myriad of supporters who made this project a reality.
The CCC floating on Biscayne Bay – 2.6.20.
Update 6/1/20: The CCC is now screening at the Miami International Airport as part of the Miami International Airport Moving Images (MIAmi) video installation series, located near gate J7:
Update 10/16/20: The CCC is now screening at the HistoryMiami Museum.
Update 12/9/20: The CCC has been named ‘Best Public Art’ in Miami New Times’ Best of Miami 2020 issue.
Update 12/1/21: The CCC is now screening at University of Miami’s Lowe Art Museum:
Join us Thursday, February 6th as we launch the Coral City Camera, our publicly accessible 360-degree livestream of a thriving, urban coral reef premiering at Pérez Art Museum Miami from a floating billboard in Biscayne Bay, produced by Bridge Initiative & Bas Fisher Invitational. Admission is free and open to the public as part of PAMM’s First Free Thursdays series.
In conjunction with the floating livestream, National Geographic Explorer Alizé Carrère will moderate a panel discussion featuring NOAA scientist Dr. Ian Enochs, Coral Morphologic’s Colin Foord, and Miami Beach’s environment & sustainability director Elizabeth Wheaton. The night continues on the terrace with a DJ set by Romulo Del Castillo. See you there, Miami!
For Design Miami 2019/, we debuted a preview of the Coral City Camera, a 360° live stream underwater camera located at our collaborative research site with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program. The CCC aims to supplement our urban coral research with real-time scientific data and offer a source of natural wonderment to the public, with the live stream officially going live in February 2020.
The implementation of the Coral City Camera is made possible with the support of Bas Fisher Invitational & the Bridge Initiative under National Endowment for the Arts & Knight Foundation grants.
Over the past several years we’ve been working toward the installation of an underwater camera in Biscayne Bay as a component of our research into Miami’s coral ecosystems. Recently, with the support of Bas Fisher Invitational & Bridge Initiative under National Endowment for the Arts & Knight Foundation grants, we installed a 360° live stream underwater camera at our collaborative research site with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program. In addition to providing valuable scientific data, the live stream will be available free to the public as an educational tool and source of wonderment. The Coral City Camera live stream will be officially available to watch in February, with a preview at Design Miami/ December 3-8. Check out the video above to see how the camera was installed with View Into the Blue.
We are happy to report the new adidas flagship store in London features a Coral Morphologic video installation. Follow this link for the adidas_LDN location on Oxford Street and watch a tour of the store here.
Tangerine Reef, our audiovisual collaboration with Animal Collective, will have its first official screening in Canada on Friday, August 30th at the historic Grand Gerrard Theater in Toronto. Tickets are available here.
We are thrilled to share a mini-documentary Instagram produced on our work. Watch above or via the app.
Pick up the 10th issue of FLOOD Magazine featuring a cover story on Animal Collective wherein they detail their history and our collaboration Tangerine Reef. Read the article here.
We are thrilled to share we’ll be curating ‘An Evening with Coral Morphologic‘ at the historic Tower Theater Miami on April 30th. In addition to inaugurating Tower’s new lobby projection system with a CM audiovisual installation, we’ll be showing a film program in the theater consisting of Miami’s first official Tangerine Reef screening, John McSwain’s CM documentary Coral City, and a Q & A session with CM, McSwain, and Brian Weitz of Animal Collective moderated by Miami-based writer and photographer Monica Uszerowicz.
The event is free and open to the public but we kindly ask patrons to RSVP at this link. The audiovisual installation/ happy hour runs 5-7pm, and the film program/ Q & A runs 7-9pm. We will have a version of the poster above for sale at the event, designed by Rob Carmichael of SEEN Studio.
Update 5/1/19: Our audiovisual installation in the theater’s lobby will run till early December – if you are in the area feel free to stop in and check it out.
We’re psyched to share a soundtrack of ours (‘Oolite’) is included on the second Space Tapes compilation. The album features artists based in or from Florida. Stream Space Tapes, Vol. 2 via Spotify and pick up the album in digital and vinyl editions @ https://spacetapesmia.bandcamp.com/album/space-tapes-vol-2-st009
Colin will join Animal Collective at CPH:DOX 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday, March 22nd for a screening of Tangerine Reef followed by Q & A, plus live sets from AC’s Geologist and Deakin featuring visuals from us at Aveny-T. See this link for tickets.
Update 4/29/19: Watch the full Q & A below:
Coral microfragmentation systems.
Coral Morphologic was recently commissioned to build a high-tech indoor coral microfragmentation and wet lab by the Alligator Head Foundation in Portland, Jamaica. Additionally, a 300 gallon reef biotope was built to serve as an educational display. Over the course of three trips, the Coral Morphologic team coordinated purchasing, exporting, and constructing the AHF Marine Lab where it now serves both the local marine scientists working to protect the Alligator Head Marine Sanctuary, as well as international scientists that can visit and conduct their work with state-of-the-art equipment in a controlled laboratory setting.
The wet lab.
On November 27th we embarked on the first field trip with researchers from NOAA and University of Miami for the next phase of Coral Morphologic’s long-term project to document, study, and conserve Miami’s unusually resilient ‘urban corals’. That is, the corals that have pioneered into Miami’s intercoastal waterways as larvae and settled onto man-made infrastructure. It is precisely Miami’s legacy of anthropogenic disturbance that led Coral Morphologic to recognize that the City was a real-world window in which to understand how corals may adapt and evolve to anthropogenic impacts.
Studying genetic variation and the underlying causes of these variations is at the heart of a global effort to identify more resilient coral genotypes capable of restoring degraded coral habitat. Most of this research has focused on traditionally healthy, offshore reef habitats and identifying corals that show more resilience to stress than neighbors, or in experimental lab settings with distinct coral colonies of the same species subjected to stressful conditions. However, our project proposes to sample the tissue of healthy coral colonies (specifically Pseudodiploria strigosa and Porites asteroides) living in less than ideal ‘urban’ conditions, as well as healthy coral living offshore in ‘natural’ conditions, to determine if the genetic variation between sites is significant. The sample sites will also be surveyed and scientifically described by community assessment and seasonal changes through photo mosaics, monitoring of water chemistry, temperature, pH, and light levels, to quantify and compare site conditions. The final phase of this project will involve transplanting corals to the tip of PortMiami from each of the ‘urban’ sites, along with fragments from the offshore, natural reef to compare how each is able to adapt, and eventually developing an ‘urban coral’ nursery to grow the most resilient coral genotypes for restoration of reefs and laboratory research.
But the first task in this year-long study was to characterize each of the study sites through photo-mosaics that create three dimensional maps using a pair of GoPro cameras. These maps will serve as our detailed baseline imagery to better understand the forces of coral recruitment, growth, mortality, competition from macroalgae, and the accumulation of trash/ debris over time. Watch the video above to see each of the three urban coral research sites and the techniques used to document them. We look forward to providing updates over the course of the year as we document the sites, analyze transcriptomes, transplant corals, and characterize range of water quality and chemical conditions that Miami’s urban corals endure.
Following their November 9th performance at Baltimore’s Parkway theater, Animal Collective will embark on a 3-date West Coast tour this December in support of our collaborative audiovisual album Tangerine Reef at two historic movie theaters in California – the Balboa in San Francisco on the 8th & 9th, and the Vista in Los Angeles on the 10th. Tickets are available via links above or in person at the theaters.
Catch us in the Miami New Times’ 2018 People Issue. Pick up a print edition on November 22nd or check out the article here.
Tangerine Reef, our audiovisual collaboration with Animal Collective, is officially live! Watch the full film via AC’s website or direct via YouTube / Vimeo.
Learn more about Tangerine Reef in interviews with ARTnews, the Washington Post, & Billboard.
Read reviews from Pitchfork, AllMusic, & PopMatters.
Dive deeper into the world of Tangerine Reef before the full audiovisual album is released on August 17th.
Learn about the origins of Tangerine Reef in interviews with Rolling Stone & the Miami New Times.
We are psyched to share we’ve teamed with friends & collaborators Animal Collective to create the forthcoming audiovisual album Tangerine Reef in honor of the International Year of the Reef 2018. Watch the official trailer above & view the ‘Hair Cutter‘ music video via Apple Music. Pre-order the album before the August 17th release via the Tangerine Reef website.
Avey Tare, Geologist, and Deakin performing Tangerine Reef live.
This past Saturday, Animal Collective and we debuted the live version of Tangerine Reef at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption. Aquatic sights and sounds enmeshed to immerse the audience of Brooklyn Steel in the extraterrestrial underwater environ of Tangerine Reef.
Thank you to David Lynch for inviting us and the Festival of Disruption team for an amazing production. Stay tuned for the official release of Tangerine Reef this August.
The Tangerine Reef crew: Avey Tare, John McSwain, Deakin, J.D. McKay, Geologist, and Colin Foord.
Check out photosets from the live performance of Tangerine Reef via Brooklyn Vegan & The Line of Best Fit.
This Saturday, May 19th we premiere the live version of Tangerine Reef at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption. We’ll be offering a limited number of a special lunar phase calendar (seen below) at the show in honor of our audiovisual collaboration with Animal Collective.
Read Part 1 of our essay on super corals: ‘On Super Corals and Where to Find Them (Or a Cautionary Tale of Using Memes in Science)’ on Medium or click the link below:
Tonight is the premiere of One Strange Rock, the National Geographic television series to which we contributed coral & marine life footage. The Darren Aronofsky-produced, Will Smith-hosted 10-part series explores the fragility & wonder of planet Earth from the perspective of eight astronauts who spent time onboard the International Space Station.
“This is the story of Earth, from the only people who have ever left it.”
