" Anthropocene polyps; Filter feeding pixelated plankton_Obscene Plasticene Daydream" 2023 [video sculpture]
Gorgonia ventalina (purple sea fan), reclaimed marine debris from Biscayne Bay (styrofoam,plastic bottles, prescription pill container,bottle caps, derelict fishing net, monofilament, dead sponges and corals), salvaged buoy ball, epoxy, airbrush paint. UHD Video shot underwater in Biscayne Bay and remixed with artist created content in the studio and projection mapped onto sculpture.
Gorgonia ventalina, the common sea fan and purple sea fan, is a species of sea fan, an octocoral in the family Gorgoniidae. The purple sea fan is found in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, with a range extending from Bermuda and Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to Curaçao. It grows near the shore in shallow water in areas with strong wave action and on deeper outer reefs with strong currents down to a depth of about 15 m (49 ft). It is known to live for over 100 years.
Gorgonia ventalina is a filter feeder and. Each polyp extends its eight tentacles to catch plankton drifting past on the current. Its tissues contain symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium spp., which are photosynthetic and use sunlight to create organic carbon compounds which are then available to the host coral.
