A project by the Meditation Ocean Constellation
Six-channel video installation with ambient score, guided meditations, seating, public programming
67 minutes, looped
Meditation Ocean works toward climate justice through oceanic meditation and responsive terrestrial action. An accessible "indoor ocean," M.O. is equal parts video installation and platform for public programming. The project proposes the interdependence of individual and communal well-being, the deep connection between humans and more-than-humans, and the nonduality of the social and the environmental.
In M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow, the premiere iteration of the project, a group of eight divers spent four days in Biscayne National Park in the Florida Keys. Experimenting with notions of buoyancy and what they offer to terrestrial concepts of “grounding” in meditative practice–along with new modes of weightless embodiment–the divers rose from the seabed to float in meditation. This “underwater meditation retreat” was both a live experience and a video production.
Meditation Ocean launched with an exhibition at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, from February to July 2023. The project’s oceanscape catalyzed a series of workshops, events, and programming connected to local issues, which you can read more about at the "Programs" link here.
Meditation Ocean is supported by the Wexner Center for the Arts Film/Video Studio Program and Artist Residency Award in Film/Video.
Read about Meditation Ocean in Artforum and the exhibition's Gallery Guide. Follow us on Instagram at @meditation_ocean. The M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow score is now an album; you can listen here. A Climate Impact Report for the Meditation Ocean exhibition is shared on Artists Commit.
Each M.O. is the result of a collaborative ecology, credited to the Meditation Ocean Constellation.
M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow
Hope Ginsburg, Artist/Director
Jennifer Lange, Curator/Producer
Matt Flowers, Director of Photography
Alexis McCrimmon, Editor and Colorist
Joshua Quarles, Composer and Sound Recordist
Jim McNeal, Dive Safety Officer
Dionne Custer Edwards, Learning & Public Practice Director
Emily Haidet, Community, Public, and Academic Programs
Sarah Robison, Teaching, Learning, and Interpretation
Tracie McCambridge, Art & Resilience Director
Stephen Jones, Exhibition Design Engineer
David Dickas, Exhibition Designer
Sarah Howard, Dive Team Captain
Bob Ballard, Dive Team
Steve Peloquin, Dive Team
Rachel Stewart, Diving with a Purpose, Dive Team
Riane Tyler, Diving with a Purpose, Dive Team, Meditation Script Writer
Mary Boltz, Dive Guide
Oscar Fleites, Boat Captain
Chelsea McLaughlin, Boat First Mate
Lily Cox-Richard and Michael Jevon Demps, Library of Radical Returns, Meditation Script Writers
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles, The Interior Beauty Salon, Meditation Script Writer
Forest–Body–Chair and Mildred’s Lane Session Fellows: Gina Siepel–Session Co-leader, Julia O. Bianco, Joe Lerro, Rachel Schmoker, Ainsley Steeves, Samiha Tasnim, Ruby Waldo, Lotte Kliros Walworth, Meditation Script Writers
Brad Fox, Meditation Script Writer
Rachel Hilton, Yoga Scope, Meditation Script Writer
GM Keaton, Meditation Script Writer
Tifani Kendrick, Meditation Script Writer
Monique McCrystal and Deja Redman, Replenish, Meditation Script Writers
Fiona Middleton, Meditation Script Writer
Sara Smith, Meditation Script Writer
Naoco Wowsugi, Meditation Script Writer
Melody Jue, Writer
Anaïs Duplan, Writer
Matthew Barger, Vocalist
Olivia Carlton, Vocalist
Lauren Maho, Vocalist
Jesse Roberts,Vocalist
Julia Harth, Learning Guide Researcher
Amanda Tobin Ripley, Learning Guide Researcher
Kendall Markley, Graphic Designer
Nisiqi, Graphic Designer
Marcy Paredes, Graphic Designer
Nia Snelling, Art & Resilience Student Leader
Sophia Buskirk, Art & Resilience Student Leader
Deidre Hoguet, Designtex, Materials Designer
Jerry Marshall, Upholsterer
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Wexner Center for the Arts Film/Video Studio Program
Wexner Center for the Arts Artist Residency Award in Film/Video
The Ohio State University Women & Philanthropy Grant
Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts
VCUarts Arts Research Institute
Huish Outdoors
University of South Florida
Carol and Marvin Ginsburg
SPECIAL THANKS
Brenda Altmeier
Johanna Burton
Jason Cervenec
John Chae
Christine Costello
Megan Cowan
Sarah B Cunningham
Dan Dawson
Carol Derby
Mark Dion
Mayme Donsker
Austin Dunn
David Filipi
Erin Freeman
Lisa Fusco
Roger Garcia
Jessica Gath
Kari Gunter-Seymour
Paul Hill
Oscar Keyes
Kelly Kivland
Jeff Knapp
Lance Koehler
Kim Kollman
Sylke Krell
Christiana Lafazani
Tracy Leipold
Susan Lyons
Chris McKenna
Sandra Noeth
Karina Peggau
Eric Pepple
Krystal Pocock
Thomas Potts
J. Morgan Puett
Matt Reber
Astrid Santini
Elizabeth Schambelan
Karen Simonian
Jo Snyder
Melissa Starker
Ken Stewart
Angie Stringer
Jody Symula
Chris Tonra
Gaëtane Verna
Michele Wick
Kramer Wimberley
Christopher Winslow