Over the past 134 years, the giant kelp forests off the coast of Southern California have been studied by marine scientists at labs like the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in La Jolla.
The history of these underwater ecosystems and how artists are interpreting them today are the subject of “Ebb and Flow,” an exhibition now under way at the Geisel Library on the UCSD campus, and “Hold Fast, an immersive exhibit opening Feb. 8 at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution.
“Ebb and Flow” features recent photographs, watercolors, sculpture and more alongside actual specimens of seaweed harvested off the La Jolla coast from the collection of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD Library’s Special Collections & Archives and the San Diego Natural History Museum’s botany collection.
A specimen of giant kelp collected off the coast of La Jolla in June 1895 by Mary S. Snyder is featured in the “Ebb and Flow” exhibition at UCSD’s Geisel Library.
(Courtesy of UCSD)
The seaweed pressings were created in La Jolla between 1890 and 2023 by citizens and scientists including Ellen Browning Scripps, Eliza Virginia Scripps, Mary S. Snyder, Paul C. Silva and current Scripps Institution professor Jennifer E. Smith. The specimens are intended to highlight the value of natural history and collections, especially as our environment shifts.
The giant kelp forests off the coast of La Jolla, Del Mar, Cardiff and Encinitas declined in size by nearly 90 percent due to a spike in coastal ocean water temperatures in 2014 and 2015. Work is now under way by scientists at the Scripps Institution and other scientific organizations to restore these forests. “Ebb and Flow” illuminates the evolution and the persistence of giant kelp forests, that have changed over time but continuing to hold fast to the rocky shorelines.
“Ebb and Flow” was curated by San Diego photographer, marine scientist and Scripps Institution alumna Oriana Poindexter. It opened Jan. 12 on the main floor of the Geisel Library in both its main gallery and in The Nest. The public is invited to a free opening reception for the exhibit at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“Similar to our Art of Science contest, this exhibit celebrates the intersection of art and science in a way that brings much-needed attention to key issues that affect society and our planet,” said Erik Mitchell, University Librarian at UC San Diego Library. “I am also pleased to see archival works from our Special Collections & Archives included in the show and that a UC San Diego alumna has curated this exhibit.”
“Holdfast SHE,” a 2023 torso sculpture by Julia C R Gray that includes a depiction of giant kelp. It’s featured in “Ebb and Flow” at UCSD’s Geisel Library.
(UCSD)
Some of the kelp-inspired artwork in the exhibition was created by Poindexter as well as Julia C R Gray, Dwight Hwang and Marie McKenzie who work in a variety of media, including alternative photographic processes, gyotaku print-making, oil painting, installation art, ceramic and sculpture.
“Giant kelp forests are unique environments that many feel powerfully drawn to,” Poindexter said. “Our fascination with this environment is collectively interpreted through observation and documentation, manifesting in forms varying from pressed herbaria to contemporary art.”
“My aim with this collection is to encourage viewers to collect their own observations of the nature around them as a means of both engaging in and contributing to the collective body of knowledge, and as an individual practice that can foster personal growth, self-care and investment in environmental health.”
“Balance: Ascend,” a 2002 walnut oil painting on wood panel by artist Marie McKenzie. It’s featured in “Ebb and Flow” at UCSD’s Geisel Library.
As a 2015 graduate of UCSD, Poindexter said having the opportunity to exhibit at Geisel Library is “a great honor.”
“I am grateful to the library for being open to host this exhibit to showcase the ebb and flow of the giant kelp forests through time and demonstrate the resilience and persistence of these species despite the anthropogenic impacts that complicate their existence,” she said.
Poindexter also co-curated “Hold Fast,” the immersive exhibit for all ages opening next month at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. “Hold Fast” specifically explores San Diego’s local kelp forests and climate change through the lens of three local artists and scientists who use their skills and talents to raise awareness about climate change.
In “Hold Fast,” aquarium guests will weave their way through a labyrinth of cyanotype-printed giant kelp created by Poindexter, study the details of local fish and kelp species in gyotaku prints created by Dwight Hwang and observe current kelp forest mapping by Scripps Oceanography Ph.D. student Mohammad Sedarat.
A specimen of giant kelp collected by Jennifer E. Smith off the La Jolla coast on Jan. 25, 2021. It’s featured in “Ebb and Flow” at UCSD Geisel Library.
“Warming waters and giant kelp don’t mix,” said Megan Dickerson, Birch Aquarium’s director of exhibits and co-curator of the installation with Poindexter. “We have to be realistic about the outsized impact that climate change has on our local giant kelp forests. But at the same time, local people are doing beautiful things. This ‘Hold Fast’ installation posits that the actions of local artists and scientists can give us hope that together, as a community, we can make collective change as we also acknowledge climate trauma.”
Poindexter said that it’s important to her to chronicle the ebb and flow of the kelp forest as part of her artistic process.
“My method to engage with the giant kelp forests is to free dive in, around, through them — and to collect specimens from which to artistically document both the environment and the experience,” she said. “The physicality of this process is therapeutic for me as I grapple with the impacts of humanity on the environment.”
‘Ebb and Flow: Giant Kelp Forests Through Art, Science and the Archives’
When: Public opening reception, 6 p.m. Thursday. Exhibit continues through April 21
Where: Geisel Library, UCSD campus, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla
Admission: Free
Online: library.ucsd.edu/news-events/events/ebb-and-flow/
‘Hold Fast’
When: Opens Feb. 8; hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Where: Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution,
Tickets: $24.95, adults; $19.95, children 3 to 17
Online: aquarium.ucsd.edu