Through the lotic lens: Robertina Šebjanič inspires viewers to care about a river through a unique, immersive exhibition at UCLA

Robertina Šebjanič’s “Co_Sonic 1884 km²” installation stands as a representation of the intersections between environmental science, climate, and art.

Part of Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption, Šebjanič’s work is the most-recent installation curated and presented by the ArtSci Center, one of ten research labs held in the School of the Arts and Architecture. Presented from November 15-December 14 at UCLA’s ArtSci Gallery in the California NanoSystems Institute as part of the Getty's PST Art 2024: Art & Science Collide.

Atmosphere of Sound is an artistic movement bringing emphasis to the ongoing climate crisis in the Anthropocene. This goal is facilitated through the works of 13 different artists from across the globe, giving individuals such as Šebjanič an additional platform to demonstrate an amalgamation of research and art. 

Šebjanič’s research, among many topics, primarily focuses on biology, aquatic environments, and the effect of the Anthropocene on the organisms that inhabit a shared planet Earth. 

The cross-disciplinary nature of her environmental art stimulates discussion among scientists, artists, and the like—bringing together individuals such as Alex Hall, Lauren Bon, Haley Marx, and Victoria Vesna. 

“For me sound is one of the ways… we can go beyond just as humans,” said Šebjanič. One of the ways in which humans can do this is by, as she personally practices, giving others “the agency to be heard.” 

In fundamentally combining her sonic art with scientific research, the audience is immersed into Šebjanič’s three-channel presentation where audience members are encouraged to walk around and explore while experiencing the visual and sonic elements of the piece. Audience members are then taken on a fragmented journey through Slovenia’s Ljubljana river.

With underwater footage showcasing fish and plants, Šebjanič uses visual elements to bring attention to what is auditory: the sounds of water, and therefore nature, alongside distorted AI generated voices. These two elements work together to create an immersive experience that allows the audience to develop a sense of empathy for the environment, its inhabitants, and its systems, which in this case, begins at a river. 

UCLA climate scientist Alex Hall, in a panel discussion surrounding the installation, said that Šebjanič’s immersive experience “at the highest level just gets you to care about a river.” 

Šebjanič’s installation consequently brings attention to the Sound of Atmosphere’s goal: the use of art, particularly sonic art, in bringing attention to the ongoing and ever-present climate crisis—resulting in her undeniable representation of care for the environment through the unification of both art and research.

Story by Isabel Rodriquez
Images by Nirvana Parvizimotlagh
Posted 12.05.24