See work created as part of artist residency with Exeter Marine

Interactive new work inspired by Cornwall’s seagrass beds and marine research will be on display at the University of Exeter’s Penryn campus this October.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the work created by artist Jess Pemberton during her residency with Exeter Marine in a new exhibition titled Zostera Lostera.

The exhibition, which opens on Wednesday 21 October in the University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute Creative Studio, brings together new works and an interactive prototype developed by Pemberton in response to her time working alongside researchers exploring UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.

A solarpunk artist, Pemberton uses creative technology, interactive experiences and abstract narratives to explore environmental themes. During her residency, she was given time and space to engage directly with marine research and the researchers behind it, exploring new ways of communicating complex ideas about life below the water’s surface.

The residency took Pemberton from snorkelling in a local seagrass bed to experimenting with collage, animation and game development. These experiences have now evolved into Zostera Lostera, works inviting audiences to encounter marine environments in new and unexpected ways.

The works offer audiences an opportunity to look beneath the surface and consider the interconnectedness, significance and complexity of local marine ecosystems. Some of which, are currently under threat of dredging in redevelopment plans at Falmouth Docks.

Pemberton said, “Coming into the residency, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I hadn’t worked with marine themes before, or scientists directly for that matter, and so it was a new challenge, and I knew it would hold the unexpected.”

Her first encounter with Exeter Marine researchers exposed her to the breadth and diversity of marine research taking place across the University.

“Something that struck me was the unique challenges around protecting marine environments… even identifying what protecting these areas means is a complex matter that involves perception of conservation as much as the reality of it.”

The residency provided an opportunity for Pemberton to respond creatively to these questions, while developing relationships and conversations with researchers across Exeter Marine. The resulting works demonstrate how artistic practice can offer different ways of engaging with scientific research and environmental challenges.

Zostera Lostera is the latest stage in Pemberton’s ongoing exploration of marine environments and provides visitors with the chance to see and interact with prototype work developed directly from her residency experience.

You can see Zostera Lostera by Jess Pemberton between 21 October – 13 November 2026 at the Environment and Sustainability Institute Creative Studio, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall. It is free to view and open to all. Find out more about the residency and resulting exhibition here.

This residency was delivered in partnership with Creative Kernow Associates and jointly funded by Arts and Culture and the Environment and Sustainability Institute.