Coral Morphologic Coral City Camera

The Coral City Camera (CCC) is an ongoing multimedia artwork and research tool, developed by Coral Morphologic to bring public attention to Miami’s biodiverse marine ecosystems. Formed in 2007, Coral Morphologic is a Miami-based art-science duo comprised of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician J.D. McKay. Together, our art, research, and community-action is centered on the urban coral communities in Biscayne Bay. After years of studying this ecosystem, we’ve identified populations of resilient coral communities that are colonizing the human-made infrastructure along the Bay’s developed areas. We continue to study these populations in conjunction with NOAA and the University of Miami to better understand their apparent resistance to disease, siltation from dredging, and pollution as compared to offshore natural reefs.

Our on-site research plan to continuously monitor one of these coral communities has culminated in the creation of our most complex artwork to date, the Coral City Camera. This advanced 360° live-streaming underwater camera facilitates the production of both scientifically-valuable data, and engaging multimedia projections and installations. Installed at PortMiami, on a coral research and transplant site, the Coral City Camera brings the public a rare glimpse of what lies beneath the surface, broadcasting stunning HD footage of parrotfish, barracudas, manatees, corals and more, in real-time online.

On February 6th 2020, we launched the Coral City Camera at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) by broadcasting footage taken by the CCC onto a floating video billboard that anchored at the waterfront terrace of the museum. In partnership with Bas Fisher Invitational, Bridge Initiative, and the Everglades Foundation, the Coral City Camera will also be broadcast into classrooms across 21 school districts throughout Florida, providing an opportunity for over 100,000 students to work as citizen scientists through newly designed curriculum.

For NO VACANCY, we’re proposing using the Coral City Camera to develop an engaging video installation indoors within a selected Miami Beach hotel. The installation would broadcast the CCC’s video stream indoors, bringing a live view of the nearby reefs to the public. This could be done as a large projection, similar to an iteration of the work we presented this December at Design Miami, or it could be displayed on an array of television screens. The exact technical installation would be dependent on the hotel chosen, and the indoor space available. If the hotel already has the capability to present large-scale video work, we could potentially utilize their existing equipment for this installation. The exhibition hours continue into the night, so after sunset, the camera could be positioned to point upwards, displaying ambient footage of shadowy schools of fish illuminated by moonlight, or the video installation could switch to playing a highlights reel of daytime footage. Similarly, in the event of bad weather, low-visibility, or technical difficulties, a highlights reel could be played, showcasing some of the most gorgeous days on this urban coral reef.

The Coral City Camera is a scientifically valuable public artwork that is unique to Miami, highlighting our aquatic inter-species neighborhood as a point of civic pride that everyone can get excited about. The installation’s goal is to encourage environmental advocacy and stewardship by increasing public awareness of the ecosystems that surround and support South Florida.