Species Encounter: Dive In!

2014
Participatory multimedia installation
Shadow theater, video projection, cardboard and recycled plastic

Presented at SubZERO Festival, San Jose, CA (June 2014) and Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (GLOW Festival, October 2014)

Species Encounter: Dive In! is an interactive installation in which visitors manipulate animal silhouettes within a large shadow theater, as a video projection creates an evolving underwater environment.

The work addresses the growing crisis of plastic pollution in the oceans. Billions of pounds of plastic circulate through marine ecosystems, affecting a wide range of species—from seabirds and fish to sea turtles and marine mammals. Designed to last indefinitely, plastic accumulates in environments and bodies alike.

The installation functions as an allegory: marine animals—fish, turtles, and mammals—are represented as large silhouettes made of recyclable cardboard, their interiors filled with discarded plastic packaging. As participants move these forms, they become active within a shifting seascape, reflecting the entanglement between human consumption and marine life.

Originally created by Michele Guieu, the project evolved through collaboration with Drew Detweiler, who developed the interactive video component. The projection combines drawings and video footage into a continuously changing underwater scene.

Page in Women Environmental Artists Directory here.

Santa Cruz Museum of Art (MAH) images et video