Tidalectics A PRINT PORTFOLIO for SGCI PUERTO RICO 2020

Thrilled to have received the completed portfolio for this wonderful project. I was paired with Stuart Sandin (Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institute of Oceanography) whose research monitors the population ecology in marine environments. Ongoing conversations resulted in the print/essay Mechanisms of Resilience.

To Barbadian poet Kamau Brathwaite the ocean signifies a “tidal dialectic”, rooted in rhythms expressing anti-colonial sentiments. It draws on the syncopated, cyclic movements of water. Caribbean poets were at the forefront of a contemporary oceanic imaginary, in which the ontology of the Ocean as a limitless reservoir has shifted towards a defined entity, subjected to the effects of anthropogenic agency. The concept of Tidalectics has been adopted by curator Stefanie Hessler as a starting point to formulate an oceanic worldview, that engages differently with the ocean. “The fluidity and ripples allowing us to think of hybridity, cross-cultural syncretism, incompleteness, and fragmentation.” It envisions a dynamic merging and moving between the arts, sciences, history and environmental studies. The Tidalectics Portfolio showcases an interplay between printmaking and marine biology, by presenting the visual response of the artist to the research of the scientist.

Participating Artist-Scientists and their topics are:

Rene Arceo (Mexico/USA. Founder of Arceo Press, has widely exhibited in Latin America and USA) and Dr. Jasper de Goeij (Assistant Professor of Tropische Marine biologie Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen University of Amsterdam). Sponge ecology with emphasis on the power of fundamental research as an innovative basis leading to application.
Pepe Coronado (Dominican Republic/USA. Founder of Coronado Press has widely exhibited in Latin America and USA) and Dr. Rita Sellaris and Maria Villalpando from (FUNDEMAR institute for marine conservation, Dominican Republic) Coral reef ecology and human impact; mapping.
Umberto Giovannini (Italy. Associate lecturer Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London UK and founder of low impact centre Opifico della Rosa, Rimini, Italy) and Dr. Amanda Spivak (Associate professor, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia). Integrated understanding of coastal ecosystem ecology; role of wetlands and estuaries in global carbon cycle.
Tracy Hill (UK. University of Central Lancashire. European Printmaking Prize, 2018 SMTG Krakow International Printmaking Biennial) and Stuart Sandin (Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institute of Oceanography) Population ecology in marine environment. Big data applications.
Jill Ho-You (Canada. Assistant Professor Alberta University of the Arts. Prix du public, Biennale Internationale d’estampe Contemporaine de Trois Rivieres 2013, ROC – National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art) and Dr Iliana Baums (Baums Lab, Penn State University) Molecular ecology and evolution of reef invertebrates
Eveline Kolijn (Canada. Portfolio curator and instructor Alberta University for the Arts School of Continuing Education. IMPACT 10, Guanlan Biennial 2011, 2013; Vorres Museum of Contemporary Art, Greece.) and Dr. Forest Rohwer (Principal, Rohwer Lab, San Diego State University) The role of microbes and viruses in coral reef health and disease.
Poli Marichal (Puerto Rico. Printmaker, media & film artist, has widely exhibited in Latin America and USA) and Dr. Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni (founder of the international conservation organization Red Caribeña de Varamientos (Caribbean Stranding Network)). Specializing in the biology, management and conservation of marine mammals- manatees.
Miriam Rudolph (Canada. IMPACT 10, Splitgrafic 8 Young Artist Award 2017) and Dr. Brian Lapointe (Research professor, Florida Atlantic University). Algal physiology and biochemistry, seagrass and coral reef ecology, eutrophication, marine bioinvasions and marine conservation.
Natasha Russell, (Scotland. Artist in residence Schmidt Ocean Institute) and Dr. Mark Vermeij (Scientific Director of CARMABI Research Station Curacao). Evolutionary and ecological dynamics of benthic marine organisms, with particular emphasis on corals, algae and, more recently, microbes.
Melissa Smith (Australia. Arts Tasmania Curator, 2018 Australian Triennial Print Award) and Dr. Valerie Chamberland (Research scientist at Secore International/ CARMABI- Curacao). Worldwide coral reef conservation; Coral reef ecology; Coral reproduction; Coral recruitment; Coral larval propagation, Coral reef restoration.
Koichi Yamamoto (USA, Associate professor of printmaking, University of Tennessee. IMPACT 10, Lodz Biennial 2016) and Dr. Gregory Folz (Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)). Role of the ocean in intraseasonal to decadal variability of tropical climate. Surface salinity and its connection to climate variability and the global water cycle