Phytoplastic, 3:39, 2012

Phytoplastic tracks the deterioration of a microscopic aquatic ecosystem through physical and chemical pollution. A small puddle of water containing a healthy community of algae and other phytoplankton grown from a sample of Hudson River water are subject to a barrage of pollutants, from plastic particles to bleach, silt and dish soap, creating a succinct portrait of ecosystem collapse. The footage for this piece was shot through a Motic Compound Microscope at the SVA Nature and Technology Lab. Sound was recorded along the Hudson River piers and at Echo Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The helicopter drone comes from Free Sound (thanks!).