*through art-science research

How do you navigate between fields and speak diverse languages of disciplines to design the conditions for inter- or trans-disciplinary conversations on climate issues? Sharing the ethnography and design process of translating scientific data into artistic media, S+T+ARTS ReSilence residency artist Wendy Chua sheds light on the creation of BLOOMS VR and the accompanying exhibition that weaves together the data and tools of the marine scientist with the creative translation of the artist/designer, the orchestral composer and the VR developer.

Wendy Chua is an interdisciplinary design researcher, curator and educator. As a design anthropologist, her research centres on mediating across disciplines and sectors to negotiate new forms of design and art-science practices in response to social issues and climate-related precarities.

Through her practice Forest & Whale, Wendy has lived and worked in Singapore, Buenos Aires, London and Berlin where she envisages design as an agent of change to create an impact in social and planetary care. She has designed products, services and museum experiences that redefine the way we live, from homeware objects and furniture systems to new models of care in ageing societies. 

With accolades like the prestigious P*DA award (Singapore) and the Good Design Award (Japan), her work has been exhibited in the Milan Triennale Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design of San Francisco among others.

Swimming between the fields of the marine sciences, environmental humanities and design, Wendy has been selected for the 2024 EU STARTS artist residency (ReSilence) to envision the future sounds of coastal cities. Her current work with marine microbiologists on marine heatwaves and harmful algal blooms is currently on exhibition as BLOOMS in the Tieranatomisches Theater in Berlin. It will travel to Milan in October 2025.

Photo Credit: Michelle Mantel