Observational Study B is a bio-media art piece and study where lake sturgeon fingerlings were cared for and raised in a museum in Buffalo, NY. The cultured sturgeon fingerlings came from Oneida Fish Hatchery where they were incubated, hatched and raised at as part of a state-wide repopulation effort. They were under the care of the artist and project partners during their stay at the Burchfield Penney Art Center from August-October 2021. In October 2021, alongside the others raised by the hatchery, the fish were released as part of an ongoing stocking effort in the Genesee River. Prior to their release, the sturgeon were chipped with a PIT tag. These Passive Integrated Transponders allow researchers to stay connected to the fish since with each recapture they will be notified with the location and an update of its growth and health. 

'Observational Study B' is an experimental living artwork and live study and is the centerpiece of Lake Sturgeons' Guide for Surviving the Anthropocene, a multimedia installation created from a decade of art production, research and fieldwork collaborations with scientists working in biology, geology and ecology. The larger installation consists of a series of short video essays and a multimedia installation comprised of interrelated pieces, and examines history, art, culture, and language through an ecological lens pointed at a single species, zooming outward from there. Observational, reflexive and poetic displays flow together to create a dialogic portrait of Lake Sturgeon and their ecosystem, while simultaneously examining our place as human beings in these same systems.

'Observational Study B' takes a literal approach to examining humans' place and part in these systems and simultaneously surveys and studies sturgeon and human behavior. It is comprised of a glass tank + stand; Lake Erie water; Six (then five) live sturgeon fingerlings (‘Smalls’ the leucistic fingerling sadly passed during their stay); bacteria; underwater video camera rig; lights; and sensors. The piece live streamed video of the sturgeon and museum-goers 24/7 during the exhibition at Burchfield Penney in 2021, and created its own 1700+ hour archive.

This study is an inverted miniature of Observational Study A, another piece in the installation. The video acts as a mirror, and is accessible only online. This study is was in process throughout the run of the 2021 exhibition, with museum-goers passively participating even after the sturgeon were released into the wild.

After the exhibition closed, the tank was donated to Riverside Academy in Buffalo.

To check out the live stream archive, please visit the link here.

Live streaming rig and platform, and daily sturgeon care courtesy of the artist. Tank and stand courtesy of Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Acipenser fulvescens fingerlings (w/ ETSEE permit) courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

For more information about this project and these fish, watch this short video.

This project is a part of Lake Sturgeons' Guide for Surviving the Anthropocene (LSGFSA).