During the nights of Art Basel Miami Beach our 2009 film reel was displayed on the 80′ X 42′ LED screen on the facade of the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami as part of the ‘Media Mesh Project’. The video compilation was curated by artist George Sanchez-Calderon and featured short films by the following artists: Lou Ann Colodny, Aiden Dillard, Alvaro Ilizarbe (Freegums), Justin Long, Ferran Martin, Morphologic,Gavin Perry, Carlos Rigau, Bert Rodriguez, Damian Rojo, TM Sisters, Jen Stark.
The night of Saturday, November 28 we exhibited a live aquarium/ projection at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with The Borscht Film Festival. The still photo above is a top down view of the aquarium, which was comprised of a mound of broken glass crawling with blue leg hermit crabs (Clibanarius tricolor). The video below is the adjunct projection.
The night of Saturday, November 28th we will outfit the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts with a full installation consisting of a live aquarium display and video projection. See the Borscht Film Festival site for more details.
‘Neighbour Riffs’
Music by Surfer Blood
Pachyclavularia violacea VS. Briareum sp.
Video and Aquarium
2009 Morphologic Studios
Surfer Blood is an up and coming South Floridian band. This video is for the instrumental track ‘Neighbour Riffs’, off their forthcoming debut LP, Astro Coast, out in January via Brooklyn’s Kanine Records.
The aquarium set used has been a two-year experiment involving two species of ‘star polyp’ encrusting soft coral. The dominant species is an ultra fluorescent green form of Briareum sp. originally from the Indo-Pacific. However, this particular morph has been in continuous aquaculture here in Miami for at least the past decade due to its desirable color and long flowing tentacles. Clones of these green star polyps can likely be found in scores of aquariums across Florida (and likely far beyond). The other species is Pachyclavularia violacea (brown star polyps), identifiable by the large white ‘star-like’ centers. This morph has also been aquacultured here in Florida for nearly a decade as well. During the first year of this aquarium’s existence, Pachyclavularia was the dominant species, overgrowing the Briareum and quickly colonizing the aquarium glass. However, in the past year the green Briareum has gained the upper hand and now comprises 3/4 of the colonized territory. It demonstrates how competition for real estate on the coral reef is a dynamic process where an advantage over a neighbor can be fleeting.
Here a three centimeter Periclimenes yucatanicus (spotted cleaner shrimp) preens its exoskeleton and gills amongst the tentacles of a Condylactis gigantea sea anemone. P. yucatanicus is a relatively common species that lives in association with sea anemones and corallimorphs here in Florida and throughout the Caribbean. The stinging tentacles of their hosts provide them with protection from would-be predators. However, despite its vulnerable size, these shrimp act as ‘cleaners’ of larger fish. They remove and consume any parasites and dead tissue they find, often from the fish’s teeth. These fish clearly perceive the benefits of the shrimp’s cleaning abilities over its value as a tiny morsel. This particular Condylactis gigantea has a fluorescent green oral disc which is unusual for the species.
Still photo (above) of aquarium/ projection and live video (below) of our contribution to the Sweat Records X Iggy Pop t-shirt release party, August 22, 2009 at the Awarehouse in the Wynwood Art District. This installation consists of a 10″ X 10″ X 4″ acrylic aquarium atop a overhead projector projecting a 15′ X 15′ image onto the courtyard wall. The live-action component of the installation features a performance by thirty photosynthetic jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana) collected in the mangrove estuary near the Virginia Key Wastewater Treatment Plant, here in Miami, FL.
