Dead zones
[This project is currently in the making, 2021-2023 ]
‘Dead zones’ is a multimedia project and documentary about oxygen deprived zones in the ocean. Man-made dead zones are areas in coastal waters where micro algae blooms are fed by fertilizers from agriculture and other waste streams. When these blooms decompose, all oxygen is used by bacteria, and nothing is left for higher life forms. In the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi feeds a seasonal dead zone of about 26.000 square kilometers, as big as 3/4th of The Netherlands.
One of the artworks, part of ‘Dead zones’, is ‘Seaweedfilter’. It explores the potential of seaweed farms to function as natural filters for excess nutrients in the ocean. Seaweeds are macro algae and like micro algae they take up nutrients very well, as well as produce oxygen. The artworks have been made with brown, red, and green algae found in The Netherlands or grown by NIOZ Seaweed Centre and seaweed farm VOF ‘t Veersche Wier. You can see the results of this project in the exhibition WEED, from 15 Jan - 25 June 2023 at Muzee Scheveningen.
‘Seaweedfilter’, 2022
Knotweed, 45 x 60 cm
Knotweed, 45 x 60 cm
‘Dead zones’ is supported by the Fentener van Vlissingen Fonds ‘NATUURCULTUUR’ award and Stroom Invest. The documentary is made in collaboration with cameraman Kobin Majid, scientists from NIOZ, NIOO, University Utrecht and Wageningen University.
You can follow my proces on Instagram: @suzettebousema