A living story of communication across boundaries, this evolving installation invites visitors to envision harmonious futures with our oceans amid the polycrisis.
Responsive to both the audience and the voice of the Atlantic, the work features an AI agent that continuously re-imagines sustainable ocean futures, projecting dynamic visuals onto sailcloth from a traditional Irish vessel. Five bronze sculptures, which were hand-cast in a replica Bronze-Age foundry, guide visitors through the space, their movements sensed and interpreted by the AI, which draws inspiration from contributions by residents of Ireland’s Atlantic coast.
The installation is deeply informed by the ocean’s reality: Data on microplastic concentrations in Atlantic waters shapes the AI’s generative process, embedding environmental urgency into the artistic experience. Through themes of coexistence and the coevolution of ecosystems with microplastics, the installation explores human influence on marine environments and proposes pathways toward reparative, symbiotic futures.
At its heart, the project is a collaboration: Galway’s waters, the public, and an AI agent, trained on images created by local portside communities, come together to generate visions of remediation, mutual growth, and ecological abundance.
Credits
This work was commissioned within the framework of the S+T+ARTS 4Water II residency programme by ADAPT Centre at Dublin City University and Beta Festival, produced by Culture Works, with the support of Port of Galway, Galway Culture Company, Galway City Council and the S+T+ARTS programme of the European Union. Supported by iii instrumentinventors.org and Waves of Change funded by the Marine Institute.
Artist: Kat Austen
Digital Artist and Technological Coordinator: Daniel Hengst
AI Researchers: Sarmad Khan, Shubhanker Banerjee, Boualem Benatallah, ADAPT
Engineering: Ed Devane
Community Partners: Access for All Galway, Galway City Partnership, University of Galway, Scoil Bhríde Shantalla, Galway Hooker Sailing Club, Interface Inagh
Vision Contributors:
Maeve Kernan, Maria Buckley, Time, Ciaran Oliver, Susanne Lally, Bartley Fannin, eclaire, Teanasea, Marina Postir, Cormac Ó Gibne, Oksana, Yermolieva, Yana Diadchuk, Alona, Flanna Bell, Olena Tolkachenko, Kateryna Samko, Elvira Sieitabla, Kostiantyn Aleksandrov, Josh Cuskelly, Sean McManus, AJ, Dobrusia, Niamh Snowdon, Erin Smith, Ailbhe Whyte, Leon McAleenan, Linda Schirmer, Breda Burns, Laney Mannion, Natasha Johnson
BetaFestival: Producer
CultureWorks: Local producers