We Are The Ocean – Exhibition

Alliance Française of Madras, in collaboration with the French Institute in India and the French Embassy in India, is proud to present the Festival of Ideas: We Are The Ocean. at Espace24, Alliance Française of Madras from 10th to 25th May 2025.

This is more than a festival — it’s a space for dialogue, creativity, and action. Together, we will explore the pressing challenges facing our oceans today.

The event is organized by the Institut Français, the French Embassy, and the Alliance Française network, in partnership with AFD, Dakshin Foundation, Océanopolis, Mongabay, Nausicaá, the Environmentalist Foundation of India, Fondation Tara Océan, and local partners in Chennai including The Common Threads, Tree Foundation & Chennai Photo Biennale

📅 Date: Exhibition opening 10th May 2025, 5 PM onwards (on view until 25th May) Open to all | Entry is free

📍 Venue: Alliance Française of Madras, 24 College Road, Chennai

“Our new exhibition “we are the ocean” demands to be experienced, not just told, so we created an immersive ocean space with French and Indian artists to raise awareness on the interconnectedness between human activity and the ocean.

It is important for us to propose impactful exhibitions as they are aligned with two of our  core values :  (1) We respect our environment, because protecting our planet is key to all our futures and (2) We work closely with other organizations that share our values.” By Dr. Patricia Théry Hart (Directrice of Alliance Française of Madras)

🌊 Why Focus on the Ocean? 

From 9th to 13th June 2025, France will co-host the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) with Costa Rica in Nice. The ocean plays a critical role in regulating the climate, sustaining biodiversity, and supporting the global blue economy.France and India are united in their commitment to sustainable ocean governance and marine conservation. Let’s explore. Reflect. Act — for our oceans.

1.Tidal Echoes by Nicolas Michel aka Milkorva

A  French visual & new media artist based in Paris, he specializes in generative art and immersive installations that reinterpret natural phenomena through digital media.“TIDAL ECHOES” an immersive installation that blends visual abstraction with real field recordings, aiming to capture the essence of the seaside landscape. Inspired by Impressionist painters, Milkorva employs generative processes to create ever-evolving visuals reminiscent of ocean waves.

Each visual element is meticulously crafted through complex algorithms, creating a fluid and dynamic representation of the marine environment. The installation’s core lies in its ability to evoke mental imagery of the sea and redefine its visual boundaries.

In collaboration with sound engineer Paul Kusnierek, sounds captured during a seaside field recording session are integrated into the installation, giving rise to an audio-reactive experience.

Notable Exhibitions : 

In 2024, Milkorva’s work was showcased at the Inota Festival in Inotai (Hungary), Sonar +D in Istanbul (Turkey), Intervals Festival in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Athens Digital Arts Festival in Athens (Greece), and Moldovan Brands Runway in Chisinău (Moldova). In 2023, his exhibitions included the Deep Art Fair at Galerie Strouk in Paris (France) and Meta-Haus in Paris (France).

Click on the link for the official website

 

2.“Villes Flottantes” (Floating Cities)  an Augmented Reality Fresque

Led by French visual Artist Elsa Mroziewicz, and Cécile Palusinski, author and producer of sound content, in collaboration with Jean Paul le Goff, musician, Michel Ravey, web designer, and Veena Rao, biologist. features Taiwan & Strasbourg — highlighting coral reproduction, mangrove reforestation, art made from ocean plastic waste, eco-innovations like using human hair to absorb oil spills and enrich soil, alongside plastic recycling through the Precious Plastic initiative.

Taiwan : Sources of Inspiration
To create these imaginary Floating Cities, drew inspiration from the main countries we visited as part of this project, where we met with individuals involved in ocean protection (scientists, citizen associations, etc.) or those reflecting on the cities of the future in light of climate challenges (writers, philosophers, artists, architects).

Inspirations linked to our stay in Taiwan during the Villa Formose in October-November 2023, including meetings with several scientists working on the restoration of natural barriers through the preservation of corals and mangroves, encounters with the Kuroshio Foundation, which worked on a report on the presence of microplastics in Taiwan’s coastal waters, and with eco-activist writer Wu Ming Yi, who wrote a travel journal about the coasts of Taiwan during a scientific journey with the Kuroshio Foundation.

Activities related to this Floating City inspired by Taiwan:

• Coral reproduction
• Mangrove reforestation
• Creation of artworks using plastic waste that washes up on the shores facing China

Strasbourg : Sources of Inspiration 

Initiatives carried out by certain organizations (Octop’us, Acteon) demonstrate the impact that inland populations can have on the ocean: transforming plastic waste, absorbing oils and hydrocarbons using hair, and constructing buildings with materials that store carbon (such as mycelium bricks).

Animations related to this Floating City inspired by Strasbourg:

• Using hair to absorb hydrocarbons + ecological mulching with hair for crops
  • Recycling plastic waste (Precious Plastic project)
  • Constructing buildings with mycelium bricks (eco-friendly material)

Available in French, English, and Portuguese.

To know more about the creators

Villes Flottantes

 

3.Aazhi – The deep sea by Common Threads founded by Kalyani Pramod (Fiber Artist)

Untouched waters I & II :

This fiber art piece captures the vibrant, undisturbed beauty of coral reefs. The texture of the fibers captures the complexity of corals, emphasizing their lively colors and intricate forms. The artwork serves as a celebration of the enduring vitality of ocean life if remained untouched by environmental damage.

Transition:

This piece depicts the shift from vibrant corals to bleached, lifeless reefs. The artwork reflects the heartbreaking consequence of environmental imbalance which leads to coral bleaching.

Interference:

This artwork focuses on the stark reality of bleached, lifeless corals, victims of climate change and pH imbalance. The vibrant ecosystems once teeming with life now lie dormant, stripped of color and vitality. The disruption of coral health ripples through the ocean, devastating marine life. Discarded plastic waste has been used here as a symbolic representation of pollution, reflecting the broader environmental crisis affecting our oceans.

-By Kalyani Pramod

https://www.commonthreadsstudio.com/ 

About the founder & team

 

4.Deep Coral Reef Dive by IFREMER 360° VR dive into the cold-water corals of the Mediterranean. In this film, Ifremer invites you to dive into the heart of a deep coral reef with 360° visuals and spatialized sound. Your adventure begins at the water’s surface… and you’re off on a dive into the clear waters of the Mediterranean. Gradually, you descend into the depths of a canyon teeming with colonies of cold-water corals. You move from one coral to another, discovering the many facets of these fascinating species. You become part of their environment, a privileged observer far from the surface…

PlanktoQuest VR

PlanktoQuest is a new virtual reality animation to explore and manipulate the marine plankton with hands. To build PlanktoQuest, they used 3D models of different phytoplankton (microalgae) including their organelles (chloroplast, mitochondrion, nucleus) that we generated with 3D electron microscopy. You can stretch, dissect, feed different plankton as well as entering inside them with just your hands and a headset (no computer, no controllers). This project, which was possible thanks to the financial support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, aims at stimulating curiosity and providing knowledge on the microscopic life of plankton to a broad audience.

 

5.“Faces of the Ocean” photography Exhibition by the French Development Agency AFD

India is the second-largest fish-producing country in the world, contributing nearly 8% to global fish production. Yet, we often overlook those who form the true foundation of this achievement : the fishers and fishworkers whose labor powers this vast and vital sector.

Faces of the Ocean brings into focus these often-unseen individuals — the women and men who sustain coastal communities, food systems, and marine economies through their everyday toil. From hauling nets and repairing boats to sorting, auctioning, and selling fish in bustling markets, they are the human heart of India’s fisheries.

This exhibition is a step toward recognition. Through the lens of photographer Srishti Bhardwaj, captured in March 2025 at two ports in Tamil Nadu, we encounter their quiet resilience, endurance, and the rhythms of life shaped by the sea. These portraits are more than images, they are testimonies. Each one invites us to look closer, to understand the lived realities behind the statistics, and to acknowledge the strength and struggles that anchor the blue economy.

Faces of the Ocean also highlights the efforts of the Department of Fisheries which launched the PM-MKSSY scheme in 2024 to support a more inclusive and sustainable fisheries sector. By improving access to finance and addressing structural vulnerabilities, this initiative empowers microenterprises and small-scale fishworkers, fostering resilience and long-term well-being. The AFD is proud to co-finance this initiative alongside the World Bank.

 

6.Phytoplanktonic Conversations

A sound album by Antoine Bertin, an ethereal album created during a phytoplankton bloom in the South Atlantic ocean. Antoine Bertin weaves together field recordings, sounds from scientific equipment, data sonifi- cation, and ambient textures collected aboard the schooner Tara. The result is a calm musical journey reflecting on our interconnectedness with phytoplankton, how they produce most of the oxygen that humans breathe, and how they perceive the universe, as they float, just under the surface of the ocean.

 

7. Film Screenings:

🎬 “Becoming Cousteau”

A documentary on the life of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the legendary French oceanographer, filmmaker, and environmentalist.

Duration: 1h 30m 

🎬 “Acéra ou le bal des sorcières”

A poetic scientific film exploring the unique mating patterns of the hermaphroditic mollusc Aceras, showcasing nature’s marvels in the muddy, seaweed-covered ocean floor.

Duration: 15m

🎬”Les Gardiennes de la planète”

A humpback whale has washed up on a remote shore. During the struggle to save its life, we uncover the story of these extraordinary creatures, inhabitants of the world’s oceans.
An adaptation of the novel Whale Nation by Heathcote Williams.

Duration 1 h 22 

 

8. Panel Discussions:

• Connected by Plastic: Humans & the Sea with Siddharth Hande, Deepa Ananthapadmanabhan, Dr. S.R. Marigouder , Dr. Sanitha Sivadas and Gayathri Govindarajan, moderated by Manell Zakharia | 10 May | 5 PM
• Sea Level Rise and Fragile Ecosystems: Is Coastal Planning Up to the Task? 17 May | 5 PM

 

9. Activities for our visitors 

• We are organizing a fun art & craft by using upcycled plastic or trash where participants will  hang their work on a big fishing net. Aim to show two sides of the ocean—one that is blue, happy, and full of life, and the other that is dark and full of garbage. Aiming how beautiful the ocean can be and why we need to keep it clean and safe.
• Children’s drawing competition on the theme “My Ocean, My Vision”, inviting young kids to share how they see and imagine the ocean. 

 

10. Reading Corner Sea creatures 3D & POP up books animated designed for children.

 

For more details contact : +91 91509 97623

(Pooja Tayal, Cultural & Communication Coordinator at AF Madras)