DIVE INTO
ART
SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY
KNOWLEDGE

WE ALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE CHANGE AND THIS IS HOW WE ARE DOING IT

by catching a wave

We are a group of multi and transdisciplinary researchers from universities based in the USA, UK and Ireland, combining expertise in environmental and social sciences ranging from marine biology, climate change adaptation, coastal management, science communication, geography, sociology, human well-being, fine arts, visual arts, mixed media, graphic design, film, poetry, and sculpture.

PEOPLE 

ART

EXPRESSING A VISION

There is an ever-evolving need for new ideas about sustainable development in a world of constantly shifting biophysical and social realities. This is especially pertinent in coastal land and seascapes: spaces where a myriad of societal activities and productive and dynamic natural systems co-exist. Catching a Wave aims to engage both artists and scientists to generate collaborative pathways for sustainability action.  Designed to move the conversation beyond a ‘service mentality’ of separate product delivery into the development of transdisciplinary collaborations, this integrated, interactive, and immersive project, Catching a Wave,  will demonstrate the power and synergies between art and science, and further the evolution of a model for collaboration by identifying challenges to integration.

SCIENCE

PUTTING IT INTO CONTEXT

Knowledge is critical to confront and resolve contradictions that reproduce unsustainable practices at the coast and to spark global societal change towards sustainability. People process and communicate that knowledge in different ways therefore the mechanisms used to exchange knowledge must be more responsive to these differences. Historically, there has been a strong connection between art and science, both of which share a common motivation and goal to understand and describe the world around us. This connection has been lost. There is an urgent need to rupture the engrained status quo of disciplinary divisions across academia and society to generate integrated, co-designed and co-produced, challenge-led collaborations allowing the visualisation and realisation of solutions and pathways to sustainability become more reachable.

TECHNOLOGY

MAKING IT POSSIBLE

Catching a Wave installations are flexible and can be reimaged depending on space and audience. Each wave “subject” is captured in great detail through being photographed from multiple angles, capturing as many of surfaces as possible. GPS devices installed in cameras increase the accuracy and can be used to geo-rectify the model for use in geographic information systems. Software is used to reconstruct the location of the photographs and to match the common points in each picture. The resulting digital output is then printed to create 3D models which are then used as patterns for the glass moulds.  Images and text relating to ocean health are embedding into the glass waves fusing them so that they fold into the wave but are still readable through the polished sides of the wave.

KNOWLEDGE FOR SOCIETAL CHANGE

BRINGING IT TOGETHER

Driven by the conceptual, aesthetic and technical potential of creating a wave which would function as a physical artefact of a frozen moment in time, Catching a Wave juxtaposes the beauty of a glass wave with installation in a man-made environment to create a sense of reinvention and reconnection. The work will highlight geophysical, ecological, philosophical, cultural, and emotional connections via lighting, sound, as well as text and imagery embedded in the glass waves.

GALLERY

TIMELINE

CATCHING A WAVE
LATEST NEWS

Catching a Wave 2020 | Looking forward CaW will be 'touring' some of the international Global Coastal Sustainability conferences happening in 2020 so watch this space for updates!! [due to conference cancellations this will be happening online and hopefully 2021 for real]

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Public Lecture at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Wisconsin, USA on Thursday 16 July 2020 from 6pm. Sign up for free and check it out here.

VIRTUAL EVENT(S) 2020 | Next up: GirlCon Chicago 2020
A virtual event taking place from 20-25 July 2020 filled with key notes, professional development sessions and break-out session. We'll be part of the TECH + ART break-out session - find out more here.  

In case you missed it....recently published 
Examining the Potential of Art-Science Collaborations in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Catching a Wave

Open source and now available online for  download our first joint paper has been published in Frontiers for Marine Science. You can read more about it here or directly go to the page to download the article.

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THE STORY SO FAR...

Building upon on an initial pilot event, held at the Society and Sea Conference in Greenwich, UK, 2018, and focussing on 5 of the 17 SDGs including SDG13: Climate Action and SDG14: Life below Water, this iteration of Catching a Wave is designed specifically to increase awareness and resonance of the SDGs and oceanscapes with multiple audiences through a mixed media approach of glass fusion, photogrammetry, and audio interaction. During the first iteration a number of portable hand-sized waves were distributed amongst the workshop participants to hold whilst talking. It emphasised the idea that we want to foster a connection between humans and ocean by embedding the mini waves, these physical artefacts, out into the communities through individuals who take them with them in their pockets, back packs, purses, in the same way that we take the ocean with us in the air that we breathe. We are making that connection visible and tactile. Driven by the conceptual, aesthetic and technical potential of creating a wave which would function as a physical artefact of a frozen moment in time, Catching a Wave juxtaposes the beauty of a glass wave with installation in a man-made environment to create a sense of reinvention and reconnection. The work will highlight geophysical, ecological, philosophical, cultural, and emotional connections via lighting, sound, as well as text and imagery embedded in the glass waves.

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Catching a Wave installations are flexible and can be reimagined depending on space and audience. Each wave “subject” is captured in great detail through being photographed from multiple angles, capturing as many of surfaces as possible. GPS devices installed in cameras increase the accuracy and can be used to geo-rectify the model for use in geographic information systems. Software is used to reconstruct the location of the photographs and to match the common points in each picture. The resulting digital output is then printed to create 3D models which are then used as patterns for the glass moulds.  Images and text relating to ocean health are embedding into the glass waves fusing them so that they fold into the wave but are still readable through the polished sides of the wave.

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With each iteration of Catching a Wave demonstrates erudition across social, ecological, and physical aspects of the oceans while providing space for both cultural identify and innovation. The project ultimately aims to continually evolve through both research and audience engagement. Catching a Wave is determined to develop networks of people who are invested and interested and/or would like participate in art-science collaborations. These points of connection will help challenge the ideas generated by this project ensuring continual learning and knowledge exchange as well as disseminate the concepts into new communities. The project team is committed to devolving the skills needed to develop integrated art and science projects while inspiring individuals, communities, politicians, and decision-makers to embrace possible and locally contextually relevant catalysts for change.