To investigate how light can vary in mesophotic coral ecosystems, autonomous oceanographic benthic landers were designed and deployed into the Gulf off the coast of Texas and Louisiana. These landers use sensors to measure biophysical variables, such as photosynthetic light availability, current speed and direction, temperature, salinity, and water turbidity.

All of these factors can influence the survival and healthy function of many different organisms but we do not have a good understanding of how different conditions influence underwater light. Mesophotic coral ecosystems found from depths of 30 m to ca.150 m (some management strategies define 300 m as a boundary) have only recently gained strong attention from the scientific community in the past two decades. 

This aspect of the unknown inspires the imagination. The lander sits on the seafloor in this under-researched area, collecting data for months at a time. But what is the meaning of the data that is gathered over these long periods? How do we separate what is significant from insignificant? The metaphor of researcher-as-lander posits new questions. How is insignificance measured in the life and experience of the researcher? What value do we put on labor, on boredom, on millions of images of blue and black “nothing” before we approach the “something”?

"The original ideas for my collaboration sprang from the museum adventure and continued with the help of RISD critics. The proposal to create a ‘stool’ that represented an oceanographic benthic lander to blur the lines between a coral’s home and our own experience of home, space, time, and environmental forcings evolved over the collaboration."

—Philip

"I have not stopped raving about the magical museum tour that we took as a group on the first brainstorming day of VIS-A-THON to anyone who has had the unfortunate (or fortunate) luck of coming within talking distance of me. For the few hours we spent there, I looked and pondered with a purpose, and my favorite part was listening to all the insights other people had about an art piece because sometimes what they said completely changed my whatever perspective I was in at the time."

—Philip