Cooper's brief:

Sinking Scene: A portable visual filter that simulates the disastrous outcomes of climate change where the sea level has risen. Viewing a familiar scene through the filter creates the illusion of a flood, evoking reflection on the consequences of climate change.

Climate change and the rising sea level is a difficult obstacle to address because the average person is not confronted with its consequences in their daily life. The “Sinking Scene” brings these issues into focus by taking a scene or view that people are accustomed to, and showing how it could be overtaken by water if nothing is done to stop climate change. This will raise awareness for finding solutions to climate change like innovating green energy and reducing carbon emissions. The Sinking Scene is comprised of translucent blue cellophane held by laser cut wooden posts that can be dissembled for easy storage and transportation from site to site. This project will affect local commuters and passersby that could make a difference in the fight against climate change.

Kevin's brief:

The Sinking Scene is a portable portal that makes any everyday scene look engulfed in water. This portal aims to educate people about the future of sea level rise and its impact on communities.

Many coastal areas are threatened by sea level rise, however, there is still time to prevent sea level rise. The Sinking Scene seeks to inform users about the the risk in order to inspire action. The Sinking Scene is comprised of a framed blue plastic sheet that the user looks through. There are also hooks and feet attached to the wood frame, allowing it to be  displayed in many different places. The goal is to raise awareness about how drastically a city will change if global warming continues, and to encourage users to take steps to help prevent sea level rise.

Ethan Donaldson 

Three models of a coral are shown, from its prime life stage, to its bleached rotting phase, and finally a lifeless, polluted husk. This interactive artifact informs about the tragic stages of a decaying coral, and emphasizes a need for change.

This project, A Dearth of Fish, stands to remind consumers around the world that the endless amounts of stuff they produce and don't reuse has consequences. Recognizing a problem and making people aware of it are the first steps toward solving that problem. In this age, pollution and climate change are the biggest threats facing Earth. In this age, we consume in many different ways. Through prepackaged foods, buying pointless objects, burning fuel, the Earth becomes more polluted.  A.D.o.F, however, is consumed visually. Through a button board with icons that capture basic everyday activities related to climate change, the interactive artifact expresses the links between those and the corresponding coral sculpture. For example, recycling and renewing energy buttons would be hooked up to the healthy coral to show that eco-friendly actions result in healthy ecology. Furthermore, burning oil and littering, which are pollutants, have the opposite effect, and highlight a dead, corrupted coral. A.D.o.F  is intended for everyone on planet Earth, because everyone has a carbon footprint that can be reduced with the right course of action. The piece could be installed at coastal national parks, aquariums, or could be used simply as a visual guide for students.

Jacob Creem

A Dearth of Fish: Three coral artifacts that aim to provide viewers with an immersive and interactive underwater experience. The installation subtly reminds viewers of the detrimental effects humans can have on coral, as they view and compare the artifacts: one beautiful, one bleached, and one trashed.

Modern society seems to acknowledge yet forget the detrimental impact humans have on the world's oceans. While many have attempted to turn this cognizance into actual action, the oceans are still suffering drastically. In fact, it is predicted by 2034 that the near 5.25 trillion pieces of micro and macro plastics that currently inundate the world's marine and coral life, will nearly double. In an attempt to make a decisive change, 'A Dearth of Fish' was created; the installation of three coral artifacts aims to subtly remind viewers of the dire state of our ocean by allowing them to compare one beautiful, one bleached and one trashed colony of fabricated coral.

'A Dearth of Fish' grew out of the desire to make interaction with a modern art piece memorable through an immersive experience. From a distance, each coral piece looks like a regular polyp cast to a Rockite surface. Yet, closer examination reveals a world of colors, textures, and gradients. Through the utilization of a Load Sensor, LEDs, and an Arduino System, the installation lights up an array of coral strands and coral polyps. In each colony, hot glue dribbles are used to make tall skinny coral pieces and clumps of aluminum foil are used to make smaller polyps. With a mixture of disparate coral elements, the installation aims to realistically replicate a coral colony in three different states. The bleached colony is completely white and bleak; the trashed colony is inundated with scrap plastics, and the healthy colony is vibrant with an abundance of colors. To enable interactivity, the Arduino System is connected to a wooden board with three Load Sensor buttons, each labeled with a certain action a viewer can take and causing LEDs to shine brighter when the buttons are pressed. If a viewer chooses to press the recycling sticker, the beautiful colony lights up; if they choose the plastics option, the trashed colony lights up; and if a viewer chooses the fossil fuels option, the bleached coral option will light up. The hope is that 'A Dearth of Fish' will inspire viewers to reconsider buying plastics at the store, or think about buying an electric car perhaps. 'A Dearth of Fish' hopes that next time, viewers will make better decisions, consonant with a beautiful, vibrant sea.

Our project began with the idea that we would construct an iceberg from aluminum foil and then cover the top layer in the trash. Throughout the course of our project, this idea has taken a turn for the better and we were able to construct an actual iceberg with frozen trash. The overarching idea of this iceberg is to symbolize that what we see on the surface is not always the truth on the inside, while also bringing light to the effects of human waste on our environments. When the ice melts and all the materials reside to the floor of the base, people will see the real conditions that our planet has been facing all along and hopefully make efforts to reduce their own waste.

Davin Brief:

The Trashberg is a time changing project intended to represent the rapidly changing world whose once healthy and thriving ecosystems have plummeted into an uncertain future. The effects of human impact are to be examined and dealt with in order to bring change throughout the world. Making the project out of ice we are able to hide all signs of human disturbance such as trash until the piece is fully melted, this would give a perspective on the true reality that the earth is facing. 

The sculpture is designed to captivate the viewer with its gigantic trash-filled bundle of ice whose crisp edges represent a lively, healthy object; yet, as the ice begins to melt over time, pieces of scrap tinfoil and plastic bits will begin to poke out of the sides and drop to the ground. By the end of the exhibit, there will be nothing left but a wet floor and stray pieces of waste.

Though the project was successful in its final product the overall process made we question the outcome. We ran mostly into the issue of building a base that would be able to hold the heavy weight of the ice. We constructed a prototype that fit the ice into a wooden box, yet, this seemed to block the viewer from seeing the leftover garbage. Finally, we found a metal rod and a weighted base that sturdily held up the ice.

Viewers will no longer be able to ignore the pervasive but often hidden presence on the planet of human waste, particularly plastic waste. The hope is to change people's attitudes toward the endangered climate and to make them more make them more aware of the environmental impact of their daily actions. 

Zoe F Brief:

The TrashBerg is a temporary art installation that urges society to rethink its  impact on the earth and oceans. The world’s oceans are exponentially rising as a result of melting ice, due to global warming. This poses a threat to all life, human and non-human. The oceans are also filling with pollution, such as fishing gear, micro plastics, and other human trash that kills millions of sea animals, driving some species to the point of extinction. People continue to turn a blind eye to these problems, and TrashBerg's goal is to change that.

The ice sculpture is anchored to a sand-filled base by means of a metal rod, which is secured to a weight beneath the sand and then frozen to the ice. The wooden base was laser-cut with notches, glued together, and painted blue to resemble the ocean; the sand is designed to absorb the liquid dripping from the melting ice. The mass of ice was made in several steps, which included freezing trash in small containers of water and ultimately freezing them together to create one large block of ice with trash evenly distributed throughout it. The ice was tempered, chiseled, and drilled into a shape resembling an iceberg.

A camera records in time-lapse the melting of the ice to reveal the layers of trash in the iceberg and show the articles of trash it releases, until there is a pile of trash on the sand. When the viewer sees the transformation of the TrashBerg, from a powerful block of ice to a pile of trash, they should recognize the impact on the environment of careless trash handling and of fossil fuel use that leads to climate change. TrashBerg is designed to show that the world has a lot of cleaning up to do.

Zoe:
An art installation that brings attention to the issue of 'ghost gear' and its detrimental impact on coral and other marine life. The sculpture composed of different 'ghosted' coral shapes was created with Papier-mâché and and regular paper, as well as spray paint cardboard and glue.

'Ghost gear' is the commonly used term for fishing gear - nets, rods, hooks - that fishing companies leave in the oceans. This gear is the most destructive form of marine debris, harming marine animals and also damaging their habitats. The installation itself is different types of ghosted coral all made of white found material in the Nuvu studios. is lies on a platform to be placed on the ground and is about 2 by 3 feet with a floral shape as the ground level. The ghosted coral represents both the ghost gear itself as well as the damage it has on them, because when people approach they turn green, and die. When real coral colonies die, they omit a green fog before their demise and "ghost" mimics this action: a motion sensor triggers green flashing lights when a viewer approaches the sculpture. This installation was created with the hope and intent that it would be viewed by the general public, because many people don't know how detrimental ghost gear is to the world's oceans. After experiencing "ghost," they may be inspired to research the topic and take action.

Bebe: 

Ghost Gear Sculpture: A paper-mâché coral sculpture that represents the crisis of ghost gear, or abandoned fishing gear, in the ocean. 

Brief: Ghost gear, the term for abandoned fishing gear, makes up 70% of ocean pollution measured by volume. Ghost Gear Sculpture is made of different paper-mâché shapes that represent dying coral. The shapes are all put on one piece of cardboard to make a cohesive shape. The sculpture is designed to show the public that ghost gear is threatening an ecosystem that humans all along coastlines and islands rely on for food and their livelihood. When coral dies it turns green, so, when someone comes close to the sculpture,  they trigger a motion sensor that makes the coral light up green. 

LEIGHTON - BRIEF

The Drop: Causes the viewer to question how they are polluting the oceans, in light of oil and power usage. The artifact consists of a metal chain which is pulled, it then releases the drop which hits a sensor and releases red LED lights.

The Ocean covers more than 70% of our Earth and provides weather, clean air, and provides food for the world. However, 706 million gallons of waste oil enters the ocean each year. When the oil first enters the ocean it spreads in the water and depending on the conditions, waves will move it throughout. The oil waste poisons sensitive marine life which interrupts the food chain which fish and other animals depend on. Finally, we are a large contributor to this problem because, in 2017, we used 7.28 billion gallons of oil, which is around 20 million barrels of oil per day. The Drop provides an abstract representation of the harm the human race is doing to the Ocean.

Composed using LED lights to create a ripple effect, the Drop represents how just “one drop” of oil will affect the lives of marine life. The viewer will interact with the artifact by releasing the chain which will allow the drop to hit the sensor and turn the beautiful blue lights to red. The acrylic box the lights are in cause them to reflect up and appear as a ripple. They are originally blue to represent what was once a clean ocean and then turns to red once the oil strikes. This portrays the damage people are doing to their oceans by being consumers, using gas, power, and pollution.

ALEX - BRIEF

It is estimated that 1.3 million gallons of oil is spilled into the ocean each year; Drip is a conceptual art piece that is designed to raise awareness about oil that annually enters the ocean through spills. The design is made out of plexiglass, which is sanded, to mimic the blurry ocean. A strand of LED lights arranged in the shape of a wave is attached beneath the first layer of plexiglass to show how one drop of oil can cause a long ripple of damage upon the ocean. This is an art piece that represents how everyday life leaves a long-lasting carbon footprint on the ocean; slowly damaging the habitat of marine life.

Crude oil is essential for many industries that rely on an endless demand for power for their electronic machines. In an effort to profit from consumers, many industries fail to acknowledge the immense impact on other species around them. The piece is not confined to a demographic; instead, Drip aims to raise awareness, among all consumers about the immense amount of oil spilled into our ocean and their responsibility for the damage it causes. 

Sallie- The Touch Of A Hand: An interactive sculpture showing the unbalanced earth that is almost out of our grasp. This sculpture displays the effects of human impact by a touch of the hand through a half sphere leaning on a sculpted concrete hand. 

Human activity is continuing to affect the earth and it's well being on a daily basis. Although there are measures being taken, humans are still doing very little to lessen our effect. The earth in our sculpture is represented through a half sphere marbled blue an green. The hand that is supposed to represent humanity is shown by a concrete mold of our hands. Our grasp on the world is slipping away and society must take a firmer grip while we still have the chance. When the user places their hand on the "hand of humanity" that is attempting to grip the earth, one will see red light shine from the earth to represent how the earth is heating up due to human effect and activity. We must recognize the long-lasting carbon footprint we are leaving and start action today!

Nicole- The Touch Of A Hand: An interactive sculpture designed to show people the long-term effect of throwing away trash instead of using reusable materials. 

When someone throws out trash, whether in a trashcan or on the street, they may not realize the effect it has on the earth. The goal of The Touch Of A Hand is to raise people's awareness of what happens by showing a reproduction of the world light up after one touches the hand with their own hand. When the contact between the two hands is made, a strand of LEDs placed throughout the inside of the globe light up red, demonstrating how the earth heats up with the production of goods people end up putting in landfills as waste. Less CO2 is generated if fewer goods are consumed and instead are recycled.The hope is to make people realize that the fate of the earth is in their hands.