2 FEET Fusing Contemporary Art and Science is an exploration that employs artistic film featuring kelp to unveil the intricate connections between patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist systems, illustrating their shared oppression of both women and ecological foundation species.
This collaborative project engages in a dynamic dialogue with scientists from the REEF CHECK Foundation and musician Gabo Lora. Positioned at the crossroads of art, science, and ecological conservation, the film vividly portrays the life force of the underwater forest through the lens of women’s prayers.
This film depicts the life force of the underwater forest through women's prayers. "2 FEET" raises collective consciousness by centering dialogue within living environments to which humans inherently belong, while promoting tangible action and response at the intersection of climate change and social justice.
Text by the journalist, and Curator Sixtine Dubly:
The expansive tendrils of kelp gracefully ripple across the water’s surface, weaving connections between perspectives and conjuring the awe-inspiring growth of two feet per day. Amid this hypnotic undulation, women punctuate the scene with analogies to their daily lives—two feet, sixty-five centimeters, the length of a forearm, the size of a baby, the height of a beehive. The interplay between text and image emphasizes the elusive nature of this ever-transforming vegetation, a veritable essence. The succession of languages creates a psalmody, evoking mediating poetry and an essential artistic metabolism.
Renowned artist, activist, and founder of the Loud Spring art tank, Kalie Granier, resides and creates in Santa Cruz, where ecofeminist thought has flourished in harmony with the vibrant and contrasting nature, imbued with Native American spirituality. Granier has chosen the outdoors, with its algae-covered studio, as a grounding source for her artistic endeavors.
Kelp, tracing the entire Pacific coast of the American continent, stands as a botanical emblem of life on Earth. Its vital force and oxygen-producing capacity, akin to a forest, evoke wonder and renewal. This initiatory plant realm offers a space to absorb and exorcise outdated patterns. Through her naturalistic practice and unwavering commitment, the artist invites us to perceive this unique species in a novel light.
Whether through the aerial caress of the camera or the momentary dive swept by bay currents, each attempt to connect with this aquatic entity sparks friction—a sensitive touch. This Ophelian movement, silent but brimming with oxygen, unfolds like any forest, holding the promise of an awakening.
