The Blue Forest

Catalina Museum for Art & History announces The Blue Forest, an immersive installation by marine scientist and artist Oriana Poindexter, on view November 8, 2025 through October 11, 2026. The exhibition transports visitors into the underwater world of Catalina Island’s iconic kelp forests without ever getting wet.

“Oriana’s work embodies our mission to celebrate the unique art, history and environment of Catalina,” said Sheila Bergman, Executive Director of Catalina Museum for Art & History. “The Blue Forest allows visitors to connect with the island’s natural world in a way that is as visually stunning as it is deeply meaningful.”

Created by hand using historic photographic processes, The Blue Forest features life-size cyanotype images of native marine flora, collected by Poindexter while freediving just off Catalina’s shoreline and contact printed onto flowing silk panels. Visitors are invited to wander through a labyrinth of luminous, ocean-blue silk that depicts giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), elk kelp (Pelagophycus porra) and other local species.

Both meditative and educational, the exhibition bridges art, science and sensory experience. As light filters through the translucent panels, visitors are immersed in an environment that evokes the beauty and biodiversity of the island’s underwater ecosystems. For the first time in her work, Poindexter incorporates an underwater soundscape built from her own ocean recordings, deepening the sense of being submerged.

“I hope visitors will feel the sense of calm, curiosity and connection that I experience underwater,” said Oriana Poindexter. “Entering the forest of cyanotype silks is an invitation to slow down, breathe, and recognize yourself as a small part of something much larger. The exhibit is designed to act as a portal into Catalina’s underwater world, offering an encounter that is at once intimate, meditative, and educational.”

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 8 from 3-6 p.m.

Location: Catalina Museum for Art + History, 217 Metropole Ave, Avalon, CA

For more information about Catalina Museum for Art & History, visit CatalinaMuseum.org.