Meditations on the Deep Sea

Public portrayals of the deep sea are few and far between, leaving many feeling disconnected from or fearful of deep-sea environments. On the rare occasions when these environments are depicted, they are invariably saturated with political, environmental, or social narratives steeped in strong preconceptions; few have had the privilege of experiencing unedited footage of the deep sea. 

Meditations on the Deep Sea is an ongoing project dedicated to creating immersive audio-visual experiences that connect us with this unique environment through music. Led by Daniel Koestner, a composer and optical oceanographer, the project seeks to bring together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, artists, and designers to produce videos composed of minimally edited deep-sea footage accompanied by original musical scores. The work avoids narration, instead inviting audiences to reflect, marvel, and form personal connections with the deep sea through sound and high-resolution imagery. Here, the first phase of the project will be presented with footage collected in the Norwegian Sea during the UiB-OceanX collaborative research cruise in August 2023, followed by a reception at Kippers Bar & Kafe USF.

Approximate runtime: 30 minutes
Limitedcapacity; please register!