Our Evolving Relationship with Life Below Water interactive event incorporated textual, visual, audio and tactile elements created by undergraduate and PhD students Katie McShane and Tadhg Dennehy. The interactive exhibition was launched at Culture Night 2023. Both Katie and Tadhg shaped the exhibition in different ways. Together all elements of Our Evolving Relationship with Life Below Water deepened our understanding of the invisible and of the global challenges facing all. These initiatives emphasised education for all as ‘student’. Changes to the exhibition model delivered a 400% increase in event attendance. By including Katie’s expertise about water we added a dimension of learning through play, creativity and curiosity. Tadhg’s sound installation created a conduit between the in-person exhibition and interactive elements staged across the Library.
Working on this project was an incredible opportunity for me to engage in a meaningful and creative way with Special Collections. I was tasked with creating an audio-visual installation inspired by items from Special Collections chosen in response to UN SDG 14 Life Below Water.
Inspired by the work of Louis P.W. Renouf I found myself in Lough Hyne, the subject of his Preliminary Work of a New Biological Station (1931). Where Renouf surveyed Lough Hyne and its surrounds for species of lichen and other forms of aquatic life, I gleaned images and sounds from this beautiful and varied landscape. These then came together in the form on an immersive piece of sound and image that played as members of the public engaged with the exhibition on Culture Night.
This unique opportunity to work and engage with items from Special Collections proved a thoroughly fulfilling creative endeavour.
Tadhg Dennehy created two versions of 'After LPW Renouf'. One is a longer version (21:49) which uses underwater recordings from beneath the surface of Lough Hyne, and contains a sample of music by Neil Quigley. The other shorter version (14:41) has images of Lough Hyne taken by Tadhg. Both versions are inspired by Preliminary Work of a New Biological Station (Lough Ine, Co Cork, I.F.S.) by Louis P..W. Renouf. When Tadhg chose Preliminary Work of a New Biological Station (Lough Ine, Co Cork, I.F.S.) and used a hydrophone mic to create underwater recordings this inspired Elaine to create an exhibition section focusing on UCC’s activity near Lough Hyne.
Working with the Special Collections & Archives' team on the Life Below Water exhibition was an unexpected pleasure. Diving deep into the treasures of the library archives had parallels to the search for mysteries in our ocean. As book titles emerged, connections were made that related to our evolving relationship and understanding of our interdependance on the balance of ocean ecosystems. The importance of the SDG14 goal, Life Below Water is relevant for sustaining all life on Earth and I congratulate the archive team for its innovative engagement in raising awareness. Katie McShane, co-founder of WiseWater.
Katie and John worked together to select images from items in the exhibition, identify a fact about each item and match the item to the SDG targets.
In February 2024 a colouring book tying into this exhibition was published on the New York Academy of Medicine's website as part of #ColourOurCollections festival.
Katie identified various sea life items on Thingiverse that would work well as 3D printed objects, for example these starfish. However following the principles of the SDGs and at Katie's suggestion we limited the amount of plastic printed.
