Breathing Space for The Hudson:
Charting the Biodiversity and Pollutants of The Hudson River, 2003

Brandon Ballengée presents a survey of the aquatic health of the river, developed in collaboration with Hong Suk Michael Oh, Stanley K. Sessions and Peter R. Warny. This multi-dimensional installation makes estuary life and the effects of pollution understandable, both visually and conceptually. Each tank represents a different section of the estuary from the salty New York Harbor water, to brackish sections where salt and fresh water combine, to fresh water further north. The beauty and mystery of five uncommon underwater creatures are revealed in high-resolution digital prints that were scanned from actual specimens. Four suspended maps identify varied sources of pollution, from the New York Harbor to Troy, as found on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Enviromapper database. Visitors are encouraged to look up where they live on the database to see the range of pollution sources and contribute what they find to the maps. Ballengée intends visitors to see the river as integral to their lives and actions, and not as an entity that is distant or abstract.

Engaging the public is at the crux of Ballengée’s work as he divides his time between working in his Queens studio, collecting and observing in the field, teaching or guiding in the classroom, the museum and the lecture hall. Collaboration with scientists, students and other researchers is essential in this work that blurs the boundaries between art, science and technology.

Brandon Ballengée wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations that provided encouragement, materials, production assistance and collected specimens for this project: AREAC at Brooklyn College, New York Aquarium, The River Project, James Haynes, Don Riepe, Tracy Seurer, Paul Sieswerda, University Settlement, Beacon Campus, Wave Hill Environmental Science Camp for Girls, Hudson Riverkeeper, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Geological Survey, The Sci/Art Institute, Hartwick College, Institute for Electronic Arts, Alfred University.

Brandon Ballengée creates multidisciplinary works in collaboration with scientists to conduct primary biological research and advanced imaging prcedures. These activities were outlined in Ecoventions, a book produced by the Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati in conjunction with an exhibition in 2002. He has collected specimens for several scientific organizations, including the Peabody Museum at Yale University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at U.C. Berkeley and others. In 2001, he was nominated for membership into Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. His works have been exhibited in New York, Beijing, Vienna, London and other cities. These projects have appeared on ABC’s World News Tonight, and in Art Press, GeneWatch, MIT’s Leonardo Journal, The Journal of Experimental Zoology, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Sciences and others. His theoretical article, “The Origins and Application of Artificial Selection” will be included in the forthcoming anthology Biomediale published by the National Center for Contemporary Art in Kaliningrad, Russia. Another article “The Art of Unnatural Selection” will be published by MIT Press in Biotechnology, Art and Culture, edited by Eduardo Kac.