Oceans Mesh - Our Social Seas

Oceans Mesh - Our Social Seas is a creative collaboration using an audio-visual projection to encourage conversations about the ocean and the many ways we value marine ecosystems.

Dr Charlotte Šunde
Vicki Smith

Oceans Mesh is a film that interweaves the many diverse ways we value our oceans and their complex and rich ecosystems. Oceans Mesh brings together stories, research and mātauranga Māori perspectives of the sea, gathered and shared by marine ecologists and social scientists.

Oceans Mesh aims to prompt and provoke public conversations about ecosystem-based management of the marine environment. Intermixing live data and graphic visualisations in multiple narratives about the seas, their inhabitants and interpretations, Oceans Mesh invites speculation and participation around these narratives.

Oceans Mesh was exhibited at Light Nelson 5-10 July 2018. Light Nelson is a biannual art event that attracts thousands of locals and visitors to the heart of Nelson city in the dark of winter.

During the festival we invited public to tell us what they saw and how they felt about Oceans Mesh using social media channels. People were encouraged to share their thoughts on ecosystem-based management and their relationship with the sea. Anonymised comments were live streamed in the artwork during the Light Nelson Festival.

Behind the scenes

Oceans Mesh is a collaborative project between artist Vicki Smith and Dr Charlotte Šunde, a social science researcher at the Cawthron Institute. It was filmed by Oliver Steding from Naked Eye DV. 

A full list of credits for the film Oceans Mesh is below. You can also watch a short 2-minute film explaining how Oceans Mesh was made. 

Oceans Mesh relates to a Sustainable Seas project led by Dr Alison Greenaway, a senior social science researcher at Manaaki Whenua about EBM narratives.

Media

• Nelson Mail story about Oceans Mesh
• Light Nelson instagram post
  

List of credits for film Oceans Mesh

Location