How do we engage deeply in a world of surfaces? And how can mediated technological experiences provide new understandings of natural systems within the underwater environment?

Recent technological advancements have revealed a vast spectrum of oceanic sound through enabling a mediated experience of the (not so) silent world. Scientists engaging with sound, image, and additional tools have developed the means through technology to critically investigate this relatively unknown and mystical environment.

At the same time, the presence of anthropogenic sound in the ocean has compounded. Sonic activity in the form of commercial shipping, sonar and seismic exploration are the main contributors to a new cacophony of underwater sound however what are the ecological implications of these sounds on marine ecologies? And how are we able to mediate an environment where perceptual sensory systems of marine life forms and organisms vary greatly from human perception?

(40.15 S, 173.30 W) _lament for beneath is an artistic investigation into the presence of anthropogenic noise in the marine environment. The audio-visual installation work features a 5:1 multichannel sound installation utilising acoustic datasets collected from the Cornell Bioacoustics research facility and GemmLab (Geospatial Marine Megafauna Lab) in the South Taranaki Bight region of New Zealand. The installation aims to enable a mediated experience of the presence of seismic surveying vessels within the oceanic sphere.