A project by the Meditation Ocean Constellation
Six-channel video installation with ambient score, guided meditations, seating, public programming
67 minutes, looped
Meditation Ocean works toward human and more-than-human thriving through oceanic meditation and responsive terrestrial action. An accessible "indoor ocean," M.O. is equal parts video installation and platform for public programming. The project proposes the interdependence of individual and communal well-being, the deep connection between humans and kindred species, and the nonduality of the social and the environmental.
In M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow, the premiere iteration of the project, a group of eight divers spent four days in Biscayne National Park in the Florida Keys. Experimenting with notions of buoyancy and what they offer to terrestrial concepts of “grounding” in meditative practice–along with new modes of weightless embodiment–the divers rose from the seabed to float in meditation. This “underwater meditation retreat” was both a live experience and a video production.
Meditation Ocean launched with an exhibition at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, from February to July 2023. The project’s video oceanscape catalyzed a series of workshops, events, and programming connected to local issues, which you can read more about at the "Programs" link here.
Meditation Ocean is supported by the Wexner Center for the Arts Film/Video Studio Program and Artist Residency Award in Film/Video.
Read about Meditation Ocean in Artforum and the exhibition's Gallery Guide. Follow us on Instagram at @meditation_ocean. The M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow score is now an album; you can listen here. A Climate Impact Report for the Meditation Ocean exhibition is shared on Artists Commit.
A project by the Meditation Ocean Constellation
Three-channel video with five guided meditations
Channel 1 — 14 min. 55 sec. looped
Tifani Kendrick, "Breath-Centered Meditation to Connect with Creation"
Sara Smith, "When humans dive, are we marine mammals? Five considerations as we breathe."
Channel 2 — 19 min. 08 sec. looped
Riane Tyler, "Your Deepest Ocean Meditation"
Channel 3 — 27 min. 48 sec. looped
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles, "Meditation for Divers"
Fiona Middleton, "Concentration; a mineral gathering"
Excerpts from each of the five guided meditations follow. Full artwork credits appear at the end of this page.
Meditation Ocean Constellation
Meditation Reels from M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow, 2023
Three-channel video with five guided meditations
Production:
Hope Ginsburg, Artist/Director
Jennifer Lange, Producer
Alexis McCrimmon, Editor and Colorist
Matt Flowers, Director of Photography
Joshua Quarles, Composer and Sound Recordist
Meditation Authors/Readers:
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles
Tifani Kendrick
Fiona Middleton
Sara Smith
Riane Tyler
Divers:
Bob Ballard
Mary Boltz
Hope Ginsburg
Sarah Howard
Jim McNeal
Steve Peloquin
Rachel Stewart
Riane Tyler
Vocalists:
Matthew Barger
Olivia Carlton
Lauren Maho
Jesse Roberts
To hear all ten of the "M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow" meditations, please go here.
Meditation Ocean and Meditation Reels from M.O. Turtlegrass Meadow are supported by the Wexner Center for the Arts Film/Video Studio Program and Artist Residency Award in Film/Video.