Direction: Xavi Bové
Light Designer and Creative Code: Xavi Maixenchs
Electronic Design: Quim Llorens
Sound Design: Liam Colomer
Grpahic Design: Abril Martí
Production: Catalina Joy Ansaldi
Video: Natàlia Vilches
ABOUT THE PROJECT “POSIDÒNIA”
A Journey Into The Lungs Of The Sea
Posidònia is an immersive underwater light installation that highlights the crucial role of Posidonia oceanica, a plant species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and essential to marine ecosystems. Acting as the lungs of the sea, it provides habitat for countless species, contributes to climate change mitigation, and protects coastlines from storm impact.
Conceived as a journey to make the invisible visible, the installation reveals what lies beneath the surface: a vibrant underwater forest currently at risk due to rising water temperatures and unsustainable human activity.
Through light as its primary medium, the installation transforms the marine environment into a living, perceptual space. Submerged lighting elements interact with water, movement, and natural conditions to create an evolving visual landscape that can be experienced from above and below the surface.
By intervening directly within the sea, Posidònia establishes a dialogue between art and ecosystem, allowing audiences to encounter the underwater world in a poetic and sensorial way. The piece seeks not only to reveal the beauty and complexity of this fragile habitat, but also to foster awareness and care through direct, embodied experience.
This installation continues Xavi Bové Studio’s exploration of environmental perception and climate awareness, proposing a new way of connecting with marine ecosystems.
Posidònia invites a deep reflection on the relationship between humans and the sea, calling for the preservation of an underwater treasure essential to our collective future.
In collaboration with: Triton Diving Llafranc
Scientific supervision: submon, ICM
With the support of: Generalitat de Catalunya
10% of profits will be donated to projects dedicated to the protection of Posidonia.
ABOUT Posidonia oceanica
Neptune seagrass (Posidonia oceanica), a marine phanerogam endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, plays a crucial role in in the proper functioning of the marine environment. It forms extensive underwater meadows that are the habitat of a great variety of species that find shelter and food in this underwater forest. It is also a great oxygen producer and it has a great capacity to capture and fix CO2, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, this habitat is facing a severe regression, with studies showing more than a 30% reduction in its coverage in the western Mediterranean over the last 50 years.
Causes of regression
The decline of Posidonia oceanica is driven by different pressures, many of which are linked to human activities:
- Loss of water quality: Discharges of wastewater, chemicals, and agricultural nutrients degrade water quality and affect the health and survival of sensitive species like Posidonia oceanica.
- Climate change: The rise of sea temperature affects Neptune seagrass meadows. Mass flowering events of P. oceanica have been associated with thermal stress of this plant.
- Illegal trawling: Trawling with weighted nets damages seagrass meadows, despite being illegal at depths under 50 metres.
- Coastal development: Activities such as the construction of breakwaters, beach dredging, and marina development degrade the habitat and disrupt natural sedimentary dynamics.
- Boat mooring: The anchoring of recreational boats and the incorrect installation of mooring fields cause a direct mechanical impact on seagrass meadows.
- Invasive species: Non-native species, such as Caulerpa cylindracea and Rugulopteryx okamurae, outcompete Posidonia oceanica, threatening its survival.
The fact that Posidonia oceanica is a slow-growing species makes it more urgent to prevent these pressures and stop the generalised regression of this habitat.
Conservation efforts
The conservation of Posidonia oceanica requires a comprehensive approach that addresses both the direct and underlying causes of its decline. Projects like SUBMON's BlueLab focus on the study and preservation of this vital marine species.
Source: submon
