the living sea captures the fragility of our oceans with immersive underwater photography

currently on display in lisbon’s national museum of natural history and science, ‘the living sea’ and ‘among the giants’ is an exhibition of underwater photography captured by hussain aga khan. the installations, which have been designed by P-06 atelier, are created to transport visitors into the depths of the ocean, in an effort to highlight the fragility of our natural world when it is facing destruction by means of plastic pollution and the extinction of marine species.

‘the living sea’ – general view, in front of the light boxes

all images courtesy of P-06 atelier

the exhibition is divided by P-06 atelier into two rooms. the first, ‘the living sea’, provides an immersive sensation with a ‘dive’ simulation of hussain aga khan, to let the visitor feel the image as close to how it was made. on sand, five big light boxes, representative of each photographed animal, stand in a dark and blue environment. at the end, an installation made from thousands of suspended nylon threads and plastic waste on the ground, intend to alert to the danger of plastic pollution in the oceans.

‘the living sea’ – general view, in front of the light boxes

the second part of the exhibition is titled ‘among the giants’ and comprises a white room, much like a typical art gallery setting. the space includes photos of humpback whales alongside quotes of the photographer while in the middle of the room, a replica of a humpback whale takes center stage. ‘in my photographs, I let animals and trees speak for themselves in the hope that other people will see the beauty I see.’ – hussain aga khan.

‘the living sea’ – detail of the sea lion light box

‘the living sea’ – general view with plastic waste installation at the back

‘the living sea’ – detail of the mosaic light box with plastic waste on the ground

‘the living sea’ – detail of the plastic waste installation

‘the living sea’ – view of the back of the light boxes

‘the living sea’ – world map with dive locations

‘among the giants’ (whale room) – general view

‘among the giants’ (whale room) – detail

‘among the giants’ (whale room) – detail

the exhibition project – plant, elevation and axonometric view of the ‘the living sea’ room

project info:

exhibition name: ‘the living sea’ and ‘among the giants’

location: national museum of natural history and science, lisbon, portugal

photo essay by: hussain aga khan

exhibition design by: P-06 atelier

dates: september 27 – december 29, 2019

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom