Parley and internationally acclaimed artist Taiji Terasaki showcase an immersive installation to support Alta Sea’s Project Blue education programs
The Water Understands Civilization Well is an installation by Japanese-American artist Taiji Terasaki in collaboration with Parley combining photography, video, and augmented reality into an immersive experience. The transformed 50-ft container was revealed at AltaSea in the Port of Los Angeles on October 8th for their annual Blue Hour fundraiser event.
Inspired by the poem Water by Ralph Waldo Emerson, together with Parley, and award-winning photographer Christian Miller, Terasaki considers our current relationship with water and our efforts towards conservation. He is especially concerned with rising carbon emissions and the proliferation of microplastic pollution that have led to the destruction of coral reefs and delicate aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
“Humanity is at a tipping point in our care of the environment. If we don’t take extraordinary steps now to protect the oceans, then the loss of delicate aquatic ecosystems will be irreversible. I’m honored to be collaborating with Parley for the Oceans and AltaSea to bring together art, science, and technology to amplify these vital messages of conservation and to find new solutions.”
— Taiji Terasaki
The intrinsic knowledge of water is ubiquitous – it flows within our bodies to the oceans surrounding the continents. If respected and used with care, water will aid the world in flourishing. If instead, humanity chooses not to work in concert with water’s inherent nature it will ravage “in perfect time and measure” everything around it. Will we, the collective human race, learn from water’s knowledge? Will we be attuned to its teachings in order to halt climate change and save our planet from irreversible harm? It is these questions that Terasaki invites audiences to contemplate as they experience The Water Understands Civilization Well.
Both aesthetic and scientific, The Water Understands Civilization Well installation will be showcased at AltaSea’s Blue Hour, an event that connects science, culture, and community by combining art and technology to tell the story of the emerging blue economy.
The installation will be a part of a larger collection of exhibitions and sculptures from world renowned and local artists to fundraise for Alta Sea’s Project Blue education programs that supports educating the next generation of ocean explorers and innovators.
The Water Understands Civilization Well will stay as a permanent display at AltaSea as part of the AltaSea Artist in Residence program until February 2023, and then will travel to a new destination.
“The blue economy is a major feature of Los Angeles’ economy, so it’s important to showcase its crucial work alongside art – one of LA’s biggest economic industries.”
— Terry Tamminen, AltaSea President & CEO
Taiji Terasaki
Taiji Terasaki is a Japanese-American artist based in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Growing up in a family of scientists and creatives, with a formal arts education, Terasaki has spent years exploring avant-garde innovations in his craft, working in photography, sculpture, immersive and large-scale installations, and pioneering mediums like mist projections as canvas. His cutting-edge presentations are often juxtaposed by the subjects of cultural and environmental conservation, preservation, and restoration.
