Photos by Jesse Bradley
Photos by Gene A. Felice II
The retention pond at the Cameron Art museum in Wilmington, NC. enables a direct collaboration with a local aquatic ecosystem that is out of balance as a result of over development and human generated run off. The artificial island project titled “Retention / Detention” provides a reciprocal benefit of reducing micro plastics and excess nutrients in the pond while also growing native species plants through a process known as bio remediation. An array of native water plants were planted throughout the island in the Spring 2022, filtering the water by absorbing nitrogen and phosphates through their submerged roots. By reducing the nutrient levels in the pond, these plants help to reduce algae blooms which can lead to low oxygen environments where toxic cyanobacteria can grow. A 3D printed, algae inspired sculptural structure pulses with light and data collected through a solar powered water quality sensor system. By translating data from the island’s solar powered water quality sensor system, we attempt to make the invisible visible. After dark, the island pulses with light and color, translating data into a multi-sensory display that helps our community understand when the ponds aquatic ecosystem is in or out of balance.
For Biota V – We tell the story of this retention pond and it’s relationship with the “Retention / Detention” floating island project. From the Inflow pipe, to the bio-remediation filtration island, to the outflow, we move around, across and through these grounds, connecting with the micro to macro organisms and the human made pollutants that effect both human and non-human life. Light / Video Projection Mapping was created by Gene A. Felice II, sound by Kimathi Moore, Choreography by Janice Lancaster and Nancy Carson and movement from professor Nancy Carson’s dance students at UNCW.