Suspended Petroleum
2016 - Reclaimed plastic test tubes and fishing line
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has widely impacted the coasts of the Southeastern United States and the waters of Tampa Bay. While many of us are familiar with images of oil slicks from the spill spreading over the oceans, recent research has revealed that these are only the tip of the iceberg. Petroleum often remains deep under the surface in complex suspensions, impacting the oceans in ways we cannot see. In this piece, test tubes which were used by David Hastings to examine the sedimentary impact of the oil spill are combined with reclaimed fishing line from around Tampa Bay. These two petroleum-based products are combined to represent oil spills from a completely different view point. The piece represents a scale model of underwater oil droplet distribution up to 20 meters under the surface on July 15, 2010, the day the well was capped, using data provided by Dr. Claire Paris. By representing oil as a three-dimensional form, the audience is invited to interact with and better understand how oil effects our oceans from a completely different perspective.
The artist would like to thank Dr. David Hastings and Tampa Bay Watch for their donation of reclaimed materials, Dr. Claire Paris for sharing her data and providing guidance, and the Eckerd College Art Department and Dr. Hastings for their support and aid.
Paris, C. B., Hénaff, M. L., Aman, Z. M., Subramaniam, A., Helgers, J., Wang, D. P., ... & Srinivasan, A. (2012). Evolution of the Macondo well blowout: Simulating the effects of the circulation and synthetic dispersants on the subsea oil transport. Environmental science & technology, 46(24), 13293-13302.
Temporary Installation at Eckerd College
