MacroMicro
2020, University of California, Santa Barbara Glassbox Gallery, Santa Barbara
This on-going work is the result of many years of noticing and obsessing over patterns in my natural environment. I resonate with
corals as I find them to be some of the most talented animals at creating
beautiful and intricate structures, especially as different patterns emerge
depending on position of observation. I have focused on corals as a main point
of interest throughout my studies in biology and art. I find their biological
mechanisms just as astounding as their aesthetic qualities. Both of these
characteristics inform my questions and research into this animal and the
complex habitats they form together. Due to stressors associated with global
climate change, coral reefs are disappearing all over the world. This sad fact
compels me to study and create in the name of corals who may not be with us in my
future.
I was able to work at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum under Dr. Daniel Geiger, where I worked as the invertebrate zoology intern. I spent the summer of 2019 identifying and marveling at the collections of coral skeletons hidden away in dark cabinets. In order to ‘reanimate’ the coral, I used a myriad of methods to explore the macroscopic and microscopic structures held within a calcium carbonate skeleton. I learned how to capture minute detail through macrophotography and the technique of z-stacking- taking images at small increments on one axis and stacking the in focus bits into one in focus image. I used photogrammetry, where multiple photos are taken from many angles and rendered into a 3D model using the software Meshroom. I was able to 3D print these models at the Mstudio at UCSB. In order to see the smallest details of the coral, Dr. Geiger taught me how to operate the Scanning Electron Microscope, a massive rig operated with a joy stick that makes me feel like I’m flying through a tiny outer space.
I leave you with some questions to which there may be no answer, however still we must ask.
Is a Coral one animal or thousands?
To what extent are polyps communicating? How and Why?
How do Corals calcify?
What dictates the pattern of skeletal growth?
What does anastomosing mean?
Why have Corals evolved these shapes? Why are there so many? Why are they so different?
Why do we do taxonomy? How can we apply it to the ‘real world?’
Does small scale coral morphology change with the size of the colony? Where is the threshold of efficiency?
How can I make music from the patterns in the coral?
Is there Hope for future corals?
I was able to work at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum under Dr. Daniel Geiger, where I worked as the invertebrate zoology intern. I spent the summer of 2019 identifying and marveling at the collections of coral skeletons hidden away in dark cabinets. In order to ‘reanimate’ the coral, I used a myriad of methods to explore the macroscopic and microscopic structures held within a calcium carbonate skeleton. I learned how to capture minute detail through macrophotography and the technique of z-stacking- taking images at small increments on one axis and stacking the in focus bits into one in focus image. I used photogrammetry, where multiple photos are taken from many angles and rendered into a 3D model using the software Meshroom. I was able to 3D print these models at the Mstudio at UCSB. In order to see the smallest details of the coral, Dr. Geiger taught me how to operate the Scanning Electron Microscope, a massive rig operated with a joy stick that makes me feel like I’m flying through a tiny outer space.
I leave you with some questions to which there may be no answer, however still we must ask.
Is a Coral one animal or thousands?
To what extent are polyps communicating? How and Why?
How do Corals calcify?
What dictates the pattern of skeletal growth?
What does anastomosing mean?
Why have Corals evolved these shapes? Why are there so many? Why are they so different?
Why do we do taxonomy? How can we apply it to the ‘real world?’
Does small scale coral morphology change with the size of the colony? Where is the threshold of efficiency?
How can I make music from the patterns in the coral?
Is there Hope for future corals?