Umwelt: Ryuta Nakajima

Umwelt is the German word for environment, succinctly describing how organisms perceive, interpret, and react to their surroundings. Duluth artist Ryuta Nakajima studies the umwelt of cephalopods (the class of marine animals including squid, octopus, and cuttlefish). His scientific fieldwork is reflected in the photographs, sculptures, and videos comprising his exhibition UMWELT. Nakajima created dozens of resin molded cuttlefish, painting them with various patterns that mimic and stylize cephalopod color-changing properties. Their chromatophores (neurally changed pigmented cells) create complex body patterns of individual responses on the surface of their skin, replicating the colors in their surroundings to protect them from predators, attract mates, and, it is believed, communicate with other cuttlefish.

Download the exhibition brochures of Ryuta Nakajima’s Umwelt (pdf)

Luna (Voronoi Cellscape): Trever Nicholas

In the exhibition Luna (Voronoi Cellscape), Trevor Nicholas constructed a wall-sized installation of back-lit Styrofoam sheets carved into polyhedral shapes that resemble complex crystalline structures. Drawing on scientific observation and mathematical patterns, Nicholas’s resourceful process explores the links between mechanical and organic creation. By illuminating the simplistic designs rooted in elements of chaos, Luna (Voronoi Cellscape), offers an engaging sensory experience that recalls childhood moments of discovery and can “challenge daydreamers and academics alike.”

Download the exhibition brochure of Trever Nicholas’s Luna (Voronoi Cellscape) (pdf)

Generous support for MAEP is provided by The McKnight Foundation and Jerome Foundation. Additional support provided by RBC Wealth Management.