0:00:04.669,0:00:07.906
How many of you have heard [br]of Amphitrite, goddess of the sea?

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Have you heard of Poseidon,[br]my husband? (Laughter)

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He gets around –

0:00:12.415,0:00:14.845
I didn't want to marry him[br]but he kept sending his dolphins after me,

0:00:14.845,0:00:16.653
and finally, I said, [br]"Fine, I'll marry you,

0:00:16.653,0:00:19.991
on the condition that we clean up [br]our house, it's a mess!"

0:00:19.991,0:00:23.591
All the rubble from dynamite fishing[br]and deep sea trawling,

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corals bleaching from climate change, [br]pollution, disease.

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Corals are not only majestically beautiful [br]but incredibly functional,

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providing habitat for more than [br]25% of marine species

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and protecting shores from erosion.

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By running low volt direct current [br]through sea water,

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limestone minerals [br]deposit on a metal.

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And the resulting surface [br]is a natural substrate

0:00:45.511,0:00:48.249
for corals to settle upon[br]and colonize.

0:00:48.249,0:00:53.053
Architect professor Wolf Hilbertz [br]invented Biorock as a building material,

0:00:53.053,0:00:57.195
and he teamed up with Dr. Tom Goreau,[br]President of the Global Coral Reef Alliance,

0:00:57.195,0:00:58.992
to develop coral restoration

0:00:58.992,0:01:02.358
and sustainable fishing practices [br]in aquaculture.

0:01:04.398,0:01:07.566
In 2003, I'm sitting in the audience [br]of a sustainable architecture conference

0:01:07.566,0:01:09.460
and I saw this –

0:01:11.740,0:01:14.479
Oh my God, I was so moved, [br]I had an epiphany.

0:01:14.479,0:01:16.843
I looked down, I was wearing [br]my two ocean rings

0:01:16.843,0:01:18.942
– one with cast barnacles and fish,

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the other has ceramic bits [br]I found in Glass Beach.

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I realized that everything [br]I was doing at the time

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was somehow a reflection [br]of the Biorock process.

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I was spinning dog, cat [br]and human hair into yarn

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and accreting it [br]onto chicken wire forms

0:01:31.958,0:01:35.505
for this installation about [br]human relationships with natural resources.

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This is an electroformed [br]copper cauliflower,

0:01:39.033,0:01:43.860
electroformed copper seedpods [br]and hammered raised copper vessel,

0:01:43.860,0:01:46.886
these are cast silver [br]dogwood blossoms.

0:01:46.886,0:01:48.681
I was freezing nature into metal,

0:01:48.681,0:01:51.348
and now I saw [br]I could use metal to grow life.

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This is thousands of kids [br]weaving fabric,

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basically hiding the weaving wall sculpture [br]I made beneath.

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The Randall Museum [br]asked me to make a replica

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of this Beniamino Bufano Cat,

0:02:01.485,0:02:05.126
so kids could weave wire to flush out [br]its form like these previous pieces.

0:02:05.126,0:02:07.626
So, I had to do this – [br]I learned to scuba,

0:02:07.626,0:02:10.358
I went to Pemuteran, Bali – [br]home of Karang Lestari,

0:02:10.358,0:02:12.359
it's the largest coral nursery in the world.

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And I took a Biorock workshop [br]with Wolf Hilbertz and Tom Goreau.

0:02:18.039,0:02:19.827
This a model –

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this is one of the sculptures –

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we did a lot of welding [br]at night when it was cooler,

0:02:24.211,0:02:28.428
and by day we would attach [br]coral fragments with wires and pliers.

0:02:28.428,0:02:30.950
Here is a progression [br]of Liku Liku.

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The electrolysis creates an alkaline [br]buffer zone around the structure,

0:02:34.159,0:02:37.188
so corals can grow 2-6 times faster,

0:02:37.188,0:02:39.565
less energy goes [br]to the skeleton production,

0:02:39.565,0:02:43.187
and they can withstand increased temperatures [br]that normally kill them.

0:02:43.187,0:02:46.602
After 6 years, I returned [br]and Liku Liku is overgrown.

0:02:46.602,0:02:48.364
The sculptures can be [br]any size or shape,

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from this small coral skirt [br]to this large dome,

0:02:51.474,0:02:53.370
to reefs miles long.

0:02:53.370,0:02:56.353
If we can build the super highway, [br]why not a super reef.

0:02:56.353,0:02:58.911
The process can be applied to –

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or it's actually very beneficial [br]to oysters, mussels, sea-grasses –

0:03:01.689,0:03:04.354
and it can be applied [br]to artistic boat moorings

0:03:04.354,0:03:06.392
and living ocean mausoleums,

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that attract fish, snorkelers [br]and photographers.

0:03:10.194,0:03:12.727
This past summer, I worked [br]with an amazing team

0:03:12.727,0:03:14.967
to make a sculpture for MUSA, [br]the underwater museum

0:03:14.967,0:03:17.633
in the National Marine Park [br]in Cancún.

0:03:17.633,0:03:20.517
And this is the work [br]of Jason deCaires Taylor,

0:03:20.517,0:03:22.686
he's the director and curator.

0:03:22.686,0:03:24.305
Here are some of the designs [br]I submitted –

0:03:24.305,0:03:30.443
I was trying to incorporate[br]some castings with metal and –

0:03:30.443,0:03:32.376
we landed on DNA –

0:03:32.376,0:03:35.544
While working on the model

0:03:35.544,0:03:39.284
I was contemplating content, [br]composition and function,

0:03:39.284,0:03:42.769
and I was also thinking of [br]how humans and corals

0:03:42.769,0:03:46.251
actually share very similar [br]immunity genetics.

0:03:46.251,0:03:48.664
So depending on your interpretation,

0:03:48.664,0:03:51.902
the helices can be dividing [br]or coming together.

0:03:51.902,0:03:56.371
The sculpture's in Mexico now awaiting[br]some final paperwork and funds,

0:03:56.371,0:03:58.930
so that we can return [br]as soon as possible,

0:03:58.930,0:04:03.145
and put it out there [br]and plant it with coral.

0:04:03.145,0:04:07.034
In the meantime, I'm working with Woody Wood [br]at Sea Horse Aquarium & Supply in Portland.

0:04:07.034,0:04:10.529
We're doing some experiments [br]in closed systems,

0:04:10.529,0:04:12.690
and through my artistic lens, [br]I'm learning a lot

0:04:12.690,0:04:16.005
about coral biology, [br]electrolysis and chemistry

0:04:16.005,0:04:19.553
in a very tactile, intimate way.

0:04:19.553,0:04:23.227
We need creativity, calcium [br]and courage to revive corals,

0:04:23.227,0:04:25.734
and to prevent them [br]from bleaching and dying.

0:04:25.734,0:04:29.133
And when you imagine [br]life support in the ocean,

0:04:29.133,0:04:31.807
it doesn't have to be [br]industrial and sterile.

0:04:31.807,0:04:35.707
It can be provocative, [br]experimental and inviting,

0:04:35.707,0:04:38.460
and if the corals collaborate [br]and play their part,

0:04:38.460,0:04:40.414
almost invisible.

0:04:40.414,0:04:44.708
(Applause)