DATA SHEET
Title / Título:
The Light and the sea / La luz y el mar
Team members / Miembros del equipo:
Carmina Fernández Cejudo (ES) fashion designer / diseñadora de moda, Jose Manuel Higes (ES) playwright, director / dramaturgo, director and Norma Tremblay (ES) actress / actriz
Scientist / Científico:
Carlos Rodero García (ES) biologist and researcher / biólogo e investigador
Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM, CSIC)
Seed / Semilla:
“Boya Kduino y transparencia del agua”
Technique / Técnica:
Theatrical Performance / Performance Teatral
Dimensions / Dimensiones:
15”
SEED
Parameterization of the diffuse attenuation of light in water allows us to estimate the quality of water as a function of its transparency. Citizen science projects have been indispensable for its study in recent years, which have made low-cost homemade devices that have helped to obtain extra information for research.
THE VISION OF THE CREATORS OF THE WORK
The Light and the Sea is a theatrical performance that reflects on sea pollution, misinformation, and the quest for freedom. During ten poetic, comedic, and narrative minutes, a mysterious character faces a test, an absurd interview, to understand his true essence. The antagonist is a man who embodies smoke, darkness, and turbulence. Light will be the tool that allows him to free himself, seek his identity, and thus find the transparency necessary to understand himself. In this piece, light functions as a metaphor but also with a certain degree of literalness as it refers to the Kduino buoy used by scientists to measure water transparency.
This work seeks to connect human beings and visualizes the sea as an eloquent, capricious, and amusing woman to raise awareness about the problem of sea pollution. In a ritual of verse and movement, we discover that it is us, with our light and our smoke, who can either free or darken all the seas of the world.
CURATOR'S VISION OF THE WORK
In this SciArt performative work, the recurring themes of light and darkness serve as metaphysical symbols of knowledge, ignorance, good, and evil. These dualities invite the audience to reflect on the nature of moral choices and the eternal conflict between opposing forces in the context of the world and within ourselves. Light, as a means to achieve clarity and measure transparency, delves into metaphysical questions about the nature of reality and how it is perceived. The protagonist’s journey to discover her true essence through an “interview” and overcoming darkness (the antagonist) reflects a metaphysical exploration of self-understanding and realization, as symbolic representations of humanity’s search for meaning and purpose in the context of a complex and often opaque world.
By personifying the sea as an eloquent woman, the performance humanizes a natural environment, making its situation more comprehensible and its message more urgent. It amplifies the message that the sea is not merely a resource but a vital part of our global habitat whose health and well-being affect us all. The performance inspires hope by showing that each individual has the power to influence environmental care. Through the interplay of light and smoke, the work underscores the fact that our collective actions and choices determine whether we will free or further endanger our seas.
Con la colaboración de la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades @fecyt_ciencia
