Current Exhibition

WATER STORIES

Opening Reception: June 8, 2024, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Closing Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025

Curated by: Elena Soterakis

Exhibiting Artists: Anne Hollænder, Arantxa Araujo, Christopher Lin, DB Lampman, DLX Design Lab, Edrex Fontanilla, Elizabeth Hénaff, Heather Parrish, Keren Anavy, Léonard Roussel, Nathan Kensinger, Ranjit Bhatnagar, Sara Kostić, Sarah Nelson Wright, Seth Wenger, Yan Shao, and Yoko Shimizu.

Water Stories invites audiences to immerse themselves in the poetic essence and ecological significance of water. The exhibition highlights stories of our local waterfronts, coastlines and waterbodies and places them in conversation with global narratives, historical legacies, and imagined futures.

Through a blend of immersive multi-sensory installations and interactive artworks, this exhibition encourages a reflective journey and underscores the critical importance of water in all our lives.

In addition to works presented in the gallery, Water Stories features a year of public programs and community engagement activities. These events aim to strengthen our connection to local waterfronts and inspire us all to be citizen scientists. By fostering meaningful dialogue around the stories and experiences of water, we hope the exhibition will cultivate reverence for the natural world and strengthen our bonds with global waterfront communities.

This curation is inspired by the essential work and dedication of our upstairs neighbors at the Interstate Environmental Commission (IEC). Founded in 1936, the IEC monitors the ecological health of our shared waterways in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut through collaborative water quality monitoring projects funded by federal, state, and local agencies.

Special thanks to our partners:
Interstate Environmental Commission, The United States Environmental Protection Agency, BioBAT Inc., University of Tokyo, New York University, SUNY Downstate, the New York Economic Development Corporation, Evelyn Powers, Tom Hall, Doug Chapman, Alvaro Azcarraga, and Eve Barro.

Past Exhibition

Embodied Futures & the Ecology of Care

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 14, 2023, 5–7 pm
Closing Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024

Curated by: Elena Soterakis & Eve Barro

Exhibiting Artists: Aradhita Ajaykumar Parasrampuria, Katie Hubbell, Elaine Young, Karen Ingram, Laura Kung, Juyon Lee, Lolo Ostia, John Roach, Iz Nettere, Shihori Yamamoto, Suzanne Head

Embodied Futures and the Ecology of Care, BioBAT Art Space. Image Credit: On White Wall

Scorched Honey Archive - Hotspots (2023) John Roach Metal plates, scorched honey, Image Credit: On White Wall

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DETAIL, Scorched Honey Archive - Hotspots (2023) John Roach Metal plates, scorched honey, Image Credit: On White Wall

Embodied Futures and the Ecology of Care, BioBAT Art Space. Image Credit: On White Wall

Slow Down Soft Body, Stay With Me (2023) Video instalation by Katie Hubbell Image credit: Yi Hsuan Lai

Slow Down Soft Body, Stay With Me (2023) Video instalation by Katie Hubbell Image credit: Yi Hsuan Lai Image Credit: Yi Hsuan Lai

DETAIL, Slow Down Soft Body, Stay With Me (2023) Video instalation by Katie Hubbell Image credit: Yi Hsuan Lai Image Credit: On White Wall

Subsuming Solids (2023) Adhesive, acrylic paint, paperpulp, armature, and mica powder, by Katie Hubbel Image Credit: Yi Hsuan Lai

Image Credit: On White Wall

Colony: Hive Listener. (2022-2023) Audio Recordings, fragrant beeswax lights, by John Roach. Image Credit: On White Wall

DETAIL, Colony: Hive Listener, John Roach, (2022-2023) Audio Recordings, fragrant beeswax lights, by John Roach.

Quiet Lights, (2023) Silk, natural dyes, reclaimed Douglas-fir, LED, 25” x 60”, by Laura Kung. Image Credit: Laura Kung

Golden Hour, (2023) Onion skins, osage orange sawdust, by Laura Kung. Image Credit: Laura Kung

DETAIL, Golden Hour, (2023) Onion skins, osage orange sawdust, by Laura Kung. Image Credit: Laura Kung

Fragment of Home, (2023) acorns, madder root, marigold, iron, by Laura Kung. Image Credit: Laura Kung

DETAIL, Fragment of Home, (2023) acorns, madder root, marigold, iron, by Laura Kung. Image Credit: Laura Kung

Scorched Honey Archive - Containments, by John Roach. Image Credit: On White Wall

Scorched Honey Archive - Residues (2023) Video Instalation by John Roach. Image Credit: On White Wall

Portrait of the Lolo Ostia in her installation, ”The Light in Me, See the Light in You” Bacterial Cellulose (SCOBY), LED lights, Motion Sensor, by Lolo Ostia. Image Credit: Katie Gee-Salisbury

DETAIL, “The Light in Me, See the Light in You”, a site-specific installation made of Bacterial Cellulose (SCOBY), LED lights, Motion Sensor, by Lolo Ostia. Image Credit on White Wall

“The Light in Me, See the Light in You”, (2023) a site-specific installation made of Bacterial Cellulose (SCOBY), LED lights, Motion Sensor, by Lolo Ostia. Image Credit on White Wall

Frame Light Sculpture, Juyon Lee, 2023, Brass, pigment ink on linen paper, and window film

DETAIL, Frame Light Sculpture, Juyon Lee, 2023, Brass, pigment ink on linen paper, and window film

Frame Light Sculpture, Juyon Lee, 2023, Brass, pigment ink on linen paper, and window film

HOST for your living things | STING (Honey Bee), by Elaine Young. Image Credit: On White Wall

Image Credit: On White Wall

HOST - for your living things | AI - Mitosis (2023) Balaklava, turtleneck, leggings, mittens, socks and two floor-to-ceiling flags made from polyester with a high contrast black and white digital print, by Elaine Young. Image Credit: On White Wall

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Artist, Shihori Yamamoto, inside her Womb installation, I am here to love you, Image Credit: Shihori Yamamoto

Signs of Life | INHALE / EXHALE (2020-2023) Artist: Balaklava, turtleneck, skirt, and socks made from neon green recycled polyester with monotone digital print, by Elaine Young. Image Credit: On White Wall

Elaine Young, Amula DNA Jewellery, Artist’s DNA, water, glycerol, borosilicate glass, stainless steel pendants and chains. Image Credit: Katie Gee-Salisbury

DETAIL, Elaine Young, Amula DNA Jewellery, Artist’s DNA, water, glycerol, borosilicate glass, stainless steel pendants and chains. Image Credit: Katie Gee-Salisbury

Cellsense (2022) Video installation, by Aradhita Ajaykumar Parasrampuria Image Credit: On White Wall

Cellsense (2022) Biodegradeable bead embellenshments created from algea and cellulose, by Ajaykumar Ajaykumar Parasrampuria Image Credit: On White Wall

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Cerulean Waters, Laura Kung, 2021, bacterial pigment, silk, acrylic, 9.5 x 9.5 inches

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Entangled Corporealities, Iz Neterre, 2023, nutrient-enriched stoneware, cyanotype, mycelium, silicone

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Mycelial Memory, Iz Neterre, 2023, lenticular print

Biogenic Blooms (2023 - present) Genetically modified yeast on agar in a Petri dish, video instalation, refrigerted presetation case, by Karen Ingram. Image Credit: Karen Ingram Image Credit: On White Wall

DEATIL, Biogenic Blooms (2023 - present) Genetically modified yeast on agar in a Petri dish, video instalation, refrigerted presetation case, by Karen Ingram

Biogenic Blooms (2023 - present) Genetically modified yeast on agar in a Petri dish, by Karen Ingram. Image Credit: Katie Gee-Salisbury

Iris 8 Yellow, Biogenetic Blooms: Collaborations with Genetically Modified Yeast (2023), by Karen Ingram. Image Credit: Karen Ingram

YPD Agar Pallete (process) Biogenetic Blooms: Collaborations with Genetically Modified Yeast (2023), Image Credit: Karen Ingram

Biogenic Blooms (2023 - present) Genetically modified yeast on agar in a Petri dish, by Karen Ingram. Image Credit: Karen Ingram

When My Planet Was Born, (2023), Mixed Media on Canvas, 48” x 108”, by Shihori Yamamoto. Image Credit: Shihori Yamamoto

When My Planet Was Born, (2023), Mixed Media on Canvas, 48” x 108”, by Shihori Yamamoto. Image Credit: On White Wall

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Image Credit: On White Wall

press release

Embodied Futures & the Ecology of Care invites the viewer to reimagine “care” as a dynamic, flowing force that sustains and nurtures all beings as opposed to being a gift bestowed across a hierarchical power gap.

In a transforming world propelled by exponential advancements in technology and shifting ecological paradigms, the interdisciplinary art presented here serves as a bridge to a future where post-humanist ethics flourish and care becomes a womb-like embodiment woven through the fabric of existence.

This exhibition is a convergence of art, biology, technology, and ethics, which invites us to re-envision our relationship with the living world and ask the fundamental question: How can the concept of care be expanded beyond the human sphere?

The concept of "embodied futures" takes on new dimensions in this context. It speaks to a future where bodies, ecologies, and technologies merge, blurring the lines between self and environment. As we stand on the precipice of a new era, these works urge us to consider how our actions today shape the political and ethical, and ecological landscapes of tomorrow — landscapes in which care, empathy, and reciprocity are currencies that bridge the gaps between species and worlds.

With Special Thanks to Co-Organizers: Clarinda Mac Low & Carolyn Hall of Genspace, Junho Lee & Katherine Plourde of NARS Foundation, and DB Lampman of Makerspace

This exhibition is made possible by the collaborative efforts of Genspace, NARS Foundation, Makerspace, Sunset Park Open Studios BioBAT Inc., SUNY Downstate, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and the New York Economic Development Corporation.