The installation glistening troubles (2016) was made possible through Winterlings residency at the TBA21 Alligator Head Foundation in Falmouth, Jamaica, and was part of TBA21-Academy’s first exhibition Tidalectics.

The work investigates the bioluminescence of dinoflagellate algae as indicators for the health of coastal waters with toxic potential. As ancient cultures have long known (and science is only just beginning to discover) these tiny creatures behave like living indicators of the ecological health – communicating urgent status updates on the composition of the waters they inhabit by ‘blooming’ in response to unusually high temperatures or concentrations of pollutants. In the video interview that is part of the intermedia installation the Rock-based fisherman Gerry grants insight into the medicinal properties of algae for treating skin infections, known to locals for centuries.

Glistening troubles places the skin (our outer boundaries, with which we touch our surroundings) and luminescent screen technologies (our interfaces to digital realities) in metaphorical proximity. Winterling’s research delves into the overlapping information in analogue and virtual worlds as well as into interspecies solidarity and points to our vibrant entanglement with other bodies.