Aquatic Dystopia

Thesis Project

This thesis creatively approaches the marine ecological disaster. A hypothetical dystopic scenario becomes the starting point for an artistic critique on the ongoing ecological catastrophe of the marine environment. Could the colonization of the sea by artificial electromechanical “organisms” constitute a solution to this ecological crisis, so that humans may continue contaminating the marine life undisturbed and without fear of ending up with an uninhabited and dead sea? This thesis revolves around this absurd question and articulates ecological concerns about the dystopic possibility of an irreversibly polluted marine world. This question is approached in purely artistic terms, through the preliminary study, design, and partial implementation of a series of autonomous electromechanical organisms that could colonize an ecologically damaged marine environment, as well as by means of an attempt to compose a submarine art installation where they could “live” and interact freely with one another as well as with other materials of natural or artificial origin. At a purely technical level, this thesis discusses particular solutions to technical affairs, describes three electromechanical organisms and their operating principles, and presents draft three-dimensional representations of a possible submarine installation within an aquarium. Through the completion of the work, it was found that, employing various technologies, such ecological concerns can be indeed expressed by artistic means.

Salamandra: 50 x 25.5 x 9 cm

Plastic Boxes, 3d Printed Parts, Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

3D Printer, Laser Cut, Arduino UNO, Autodesk Maya

CUT OUT, Graduated Online Exhibition, 2020 (due Covid-19)