Glen Forrester

It is common knowledge that ocean habitats are suffering greatly from pollution, increasing temperatures, hypoxia, and rates of acidification unprecedented in the last half million years. The ocean constitutes 90% of the habitable planet, and half of its species may be threatened with extinction by the end of this century. Evidence like coral bleaching is dramatically visible and highly alarming, yet less apparent are our impacts on the sea’s sonic sphere.

While research into whale song sparked empathy leading to conservation efforts in the 1970s, many other forms of sea life also communicate with complex sound, under extreme threat from both ecological effects on sound dynamics and ever-increasing anthropogenic noise pollution. This concept proposes an "acoustic aquarium" in which initial trickery with interactive virtual elements shapes an experience with live animals monitored via hydrophones. Visitors ascend through exhibits of mounting acidity as they return to reality: habitats with progressively lower biodiversity, and ultimately, silence.