Cause & Affection: A Water Quality-of-Life
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) plays an essential role in maintaining the health of Nantucket Harbor. This flowering seagrass has been shown to sequester carbon from the water column and therefore mitigate ocean acidification locally (Rickart et al, 2021). Such elevation of pH may become essential for the continued productivity of Nantucket’s economically valued bay scallop (Argopecten irradians).
In Summer 2024, the Maria Mitchell Association (MMA), with the help of Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation (GHYCF) and others, launched the Harbor Monitoring Project. As MMA's visiting scientist-in-residence - and with the help of the Oika Research Vessel - Oika ecologist Dr. Rich Blundell oversaw the deployment of a state-of-the-art oceanographic buoy that continuously measures pH, nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity and chlorophyll in the water column.
The same summer, with additional support from GHYCF, Blundell also oversaw the "deployment" of another sensor into the water: artist Rita Leduc. As part of Cause & Affection: A Water Quality-of-Life, Leduc immersed herself in the eelgrass ecosystem to collect visual data that reflected the many sensations of relationality she felt at different levels from the sea floor. The resulting artwork expresses a lived-experience of relationality between Leduc and Nantucket Harbor’s eelgrass ecosystem.
Oika Research investigates the ecological intelligence of nature and then links local culture and ecology systemically to local economies. To accomplish this with Cause & Affection: A Water Quality-of-Life, the long-term value of the artwork is algorithmically linked to the pH as measured in real time by the buoy. Proceeds from the inaugural sale of the project's artwork are distributed equally between the artist, the conservation group sponsoring the project, and Oika Research.
By intertwining scientific data with artistic data, Cause & Affection: A Water Quality-of-Life communicates the continuity between the health of the harbor and the health of our human condition.
Oikanomic Value Model
The aim of the Oikanomic value model is to incentivize care for the health of an ecosystem through both quantitative (scientific) and qualitative (creative) relationships. For Cause & Affection: A Water Quality-of-Life, the visual data has yielded a collage series (ex. on right) and a pastel series (ex. above) wherein:
The base art values are:
- Collage: $10K USD
- Pastel: $3000 USD
- Limited edition print: $750 USD
The base pH value is 7.86 (minimum pH for 2024)
For every .01 increase in base pH value, base art value increases by 4.63%
For every .01 decrease in base pH value, base art value decreases by 4.63%
Wherein the highest pH value is 8.4 and the highest art value is $35K (market value increases notwithstanding). To view current buoy data and how it affects current collage value, see below (other calculators forthcoming).
Upon initial sale, proceeds are equally divided among the artist, Oika Research, and The Harbor Acidification Monitoring Project. Oikanomics encourages that profits from proceeding sales are equally distributed among these three entities and the seller, however this is but a suggestion to maintain reciprocal relationship.
Eelgrass Collage 1 (Nantucket Harbor, 2024)
Detail (graphite drawing)