MERCURY ART & SCIENCE PROJECT RESEARCH
Inside the Research that drives the work.
STUDIO
RESEARCH
PROJECT RESEARCH
Every work begins with a question. For Mercury the question was specific and urgent — how does mercury move from a coal-fired power plant into the body of someone sitting down to dinner?
To answer that question I spoke with water and fisheries scientists, medical doctors, and a wildlife photographer. I visited research sites, studied scientific literature, and researched the long tradition of the bathing figure in sculpture and painting. What I gathered became not illustration but metaphor — the raw material of an installation that asks the viewer to feel what the data cannot.
Research functions as a catalyst for imagery — transforming knowledge into visual language rather than representation, allowing it to become material, spatial, and experiential.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS & FINDINGS
My inquiry began with the following core questions:
What is methylmercury?
A highly toxic organic form of mercury produced when inorganic mercury is transformed by microorganisms in aquatic environments.
How does it enter and circulate within the environment?
Emitted primarily from coal-fired power plants, mercury deposits into waterways where it is converted to methylmercury and moves through aquatic systems.
What does current scientific research reveal about emissions, exposure, and impact?
Research indicates that mercury emissions persist globally, with documented impacts on ecosystems and significant neurological risks to humans, particularly through dietary exposure.
How does methylmercury bioaccumulate in seafood, and which species are most affected?
Methylmercury accumulates up the food chain, reaching highest concentrations in long-lived predatory fish such as tuna, swordfish, and shark.
What governmental protections exist, and where do gaps in regulation remain?
While regulatory efforts have reduced emissions in some regions, gaps remain in enforcement, global coordination, and public awareness regarding safe consumption.
STUDIO RESEARCH & PROCESS
In the studio I turned to art history — tracing the bathing figure across centuries of painting and sculpture. This research shaped the figure — her posture, her gesture, the psychological weight of her stillness. I produced plaster molds for the fish, automobiles, and tuna cans — cast as repeating forms to populate the installation floor — and developed molds for the figural elements. I gave particular attention to the figure’s facial expression and anatomical detail — her realism the anchor of the installation’s psychological force.
Working with a model, I photographed her gesture at 360 degrees — building a complete photographic reference that guided every stage of the sculpting process. Bodies of water were photographed from above to create the photographic water floor of the installation. The model was photographed emerging from underwater at different times of day — capturing the shifting reflection, color, and light that became the imagery for the mural-scaled installation banners. Digitally composed in Photoshop, these photographs became immersive visual fields rather than illustrative backdrops.
I tested fabric extensively — finding the right material for the translucent banners and the 12 x 20 foot dye sublimation print that became the water floor. I tested metallic glazes for the automobiles, tuna cans, and menhaden, and worked with layered underglazes and glazes to achieve a painterly color depth for the large bluefin tuna — the fish at the center of the contamination narrative. The installation platform was designed as a modular system — 4 x 8 foot sections joined with mechanical hardware to create a 12 x 20 foot structure strong enough to support installation and engineered for assembly, disassembly, and transport.
STUDIO PROCESS IMAGES
CLASSICAL BATH FIGURE REFERENCE
ART-HISTORICAL BATHING FIGURE REFERENCE
Scientific inquiry and material process evolve together.
STUDIO FIGURE STUDY WITH VESSEL ELEMENTS
MERCURY INSTALLATION CONCEPT MAQUETTE CONCEPTUAL PLAN
– National Center for Mariculture, Eilat, Israel — Research visit examining marine science, aquaculture systems, and environmental health.
Head / face / braid mold system
Bluefin Tuna, Monterey Bay Aquarium — Research reference investigating marine food webs and mercury bio-accumulation.
CAR MOLD AND CASTING
Camisole mold sequence
Head Development. Earthenware, hand-built. In progress.
Pants mold sequence
Figure — Torso Construction. Earthenware, hand-built. In progress.
Figure — Assembly (Lower Form). Earthenware, hand-built. In progress.
Figure — Artist with Figure. Earthenware, hand-built. In progress.
Figure — Full Figure, Pre-Firing in kiln. Earthenware, hand-built.
Platform construction diagram and layout plan
Modular platform structure, studio assembly
Installation in progress, spatial configuration
Mercury installation, near final composition
MERCURY INSTALLATION VIDEO
RESEARCH SUPPORT & COLLABORATIONS
The Mercury installation was supported by a research award from the University of Florida Scholarship Enhancement Fund.
Special thanks to the scientists who contributed their expertise and research in support of this project, including:
- Dr. Andrew Kane, Director, Aquatic Pathology Laboratory, University of Florida
- Dr. Arik Diamant, National Center for Mariculture, Israel
With additional research contributions and interviews from:
- Dr Daniel Obrist, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada
- Dr. Barak Herut, Director, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel
- Dr. Muki Speigel, Dr. Bill Koven, Dr. Amos Tandler, National Center for Mariculture, Eilat, Israel
- Dr. Tamar Zohary, Director, Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal, Israel (monitoring and research of Lake Kinneret)
Creative and technical collaborators:
- Brian Skerry, National Geographic Underwater Photographer — photographic collaboration and research support
- Stan Kaye, Professor/Lighting Designer, UF Department of Theatre — integrated lighting and underwater effects
- Alan Saperstein — “Mercury” video interview
