emma Akmakdjian

repurposed plastic fishing containers, irrigation tubing, recycled sails, recycled steel, and air.

The temporary submersion of this artwork on Catalina Island was made possible with the help of captain Sean Wilder, Scientific Diver Hugh Knopp, Dive Instructor Kylie Van De Wyngaerde, and Underwater Filmer/Photographer Taylor Griffith.

The Elk Kelp sculpture is scaled four times larger than life to represent human culture's monumental presence in the oceans, from CO2-driven rising temperatures to dwindling biodiversity from predator loss, and coastal erosion threatening coastal livelihoods; humans are felt in every inch of water surrounding the land we inhabit.

This sculptural experiment mimics the hydrodynamics of underwater "plants" and their unusual gravity-defying forms. The sculpture's measurements come from an Elk Kelp that washed ashore on the beach. Air pockets in the sails and a welded bodice help concentrate the center of gravity. The design accounts for air volume and pressure. Instead of installing it with nails and hammers, the divers pivot around the sculpture, filling tubes and pockets with air from their tanks to gently send the sculpture up into the water.