~~ Not Breaking ~~ This Wave Drowns Hate ~~ by Kat Austen is an evolving installation that explores communication across boundaries and collective imagination for more harmonious futures with the ocean in the era of the polycrisis. The work unites immersive sound, sculpture, AI, and community participation to propose new forms of coexistence between humans and marine ecosystems. At its heart are five hand-cast bronze sculptures, produced in a replica Bronze Age foundry, whose sensed movements combined with marine microplastic data influence the installation atmosphere and a bespoke AI agent. This AI continuously re-envisions images of sustainable ocean futures, trained on visual contributions from residents along the Irish Atlantic coast. Together, these elements form a living system where visitors, ocean waters, and machine intelligence co-create visions of remediation, mutual growth, and ecological lushness. The artwork invites reflection on interdependence, empathy, and the transformative potential of technology in reimagining our relationship with the sea.
This work was commissioned within the framework of the S+T+ARTS 4Water II residency programme by ADAPT Centre at Dublin City University and Beta Festival with the support of Port of Galway, Galway Culture Company, Galway City Council, Culture Works and the S+T+ARTS programme of the European Union. Supported by iii instrumentinventors.org and Waves of Change (ATU / Marine Institute).
Kat Austen is a person. Her work conveys the wild and visceral connectedness of humans to the other(s). Her installations and performances are beautiful yet challenging, confronting the dark edges of humanity while highlighting our shared experience and knowledge.
Working across disciplines and media forms, Austen critically focuses on the most pressing environmental and social justice challenges of our times, combining cutting-edge technologies with embodied and analogue techniques to elevate the wonder of the everyday.
Focusing on recovery, remediation and diversity, Austen's softly forceful artworks communicate emotional and intellectual relations to sublimate subjectivity and cultivate space for more-than-human perspectives.
Image credit: F Glowinski
