BLOOMS – Blooming Algae: An Immersive VR Experience for Science Communication

Blooms is an amazing art-science installation that invites visitors to literally become an algae particle and dive into the hidden soundscapes of toxic algal blooms. These blooms, increasingly driven by rising temperatures, marine heatwaves, and anthropogenic pollutants, disrupt the metabolic cycles of aquatic ecosystems and reflect the climate precarity of our urban, agricultural, and industrial waste streams.

Developed within the Excellence Cluster Matters of Activity (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and first presented at the Tieranatomisches Theater, Blooms pioneers a new way to communicate science — through embodied experience.

Equipped with haptic vests and immersed in high-end real-time rendering powered by high-performance game computers, participants feel as if they are in a submarine drifting through the microcosm of phytoplankton. The installation merges cutting-edge VR technology with multisensory design to create a deeply visceral encounter with more-than-human, urban-coastal ecologies.

A collaboration between Wendy Chua, Joyce Koh, Gustavo Maggio, Christian Stein and Object Space Agency, with Sandric Leong and Team HABs (Tropical Marine Science Institute, Singapore). Commissioned by the EU S+T+ARTS ReSilence Residency.