Ebb + Flow: Giant Kelp Forests through Art, Science and the Archives illuminates the evolution and the persistence of giant kelp forests, evolving through time but continuing to hold fast to the rocky shorelines. 

Conceptualized and curated by Oriana Poindexter, the works in this exhibit document the giant kelp forests and associated species from 1890 to the present day by uniting archival material with contemporary art, bridging art and science to inspire awe, ignite curiosity and catalyze dialogue. This exhibit displays works created as a result of continued observation of the local giant kelp forest environment by artists, scientists and community members over the past 134 years.

The artwork is the interpretation of the giant kelp forest by five regional artists – Julia C R Gray, Dwight Hwang, Marie McKenzie, Jennifer Smith, and Oriana Poindexter. Seaweed pressings collected in La Jolla from 1890 through 2023 are on display in dialogue with the artwork. A 1905 seaweed pressing album from the Library’s Special Collections & Archives (SC & A), created by Virginia Scripps and her half-sister, Ellen Browning Scripps, the founding benefactor of SIO, shows a similar diversity of seaweed species as recent pressings created by SIO Professor Jennifer Smith. Additional pressings from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Herbarium Collection, now housed at the San Diego Natural History Museum, are on loan for this exhibit and accompany those from SC & A.

Free and open to the public during library hours. The exhibit is on view January 15, 2024 through July 7, 2024. Opening Reception: The UC San Diego Library is hosting a reception on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

Press Release

List of Works by Artist

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