A discussion between Louise Contant, head of collections at the French Musée national de la Marine, Lisa Cubaynes, art history student specializing in underwater museums, and Thierry Perez, marine ecologist with a strong perspective in ocean conservation. Moderated by Juliette Bessette, historian of art and science.

This article explores the following question: at the end of the nineteenth century, how did the scientific community, among others, come to be increasingly preoccupied with underwater photography, and how could this world, and its attributes, be made visible?

This contribution compares depictions of sea animals in early modern Dutch still-lifes with other types of images: emblems from the 16th and 17th century, scientific prints from treatises published between the end of the 14th and the 18th century, and finally drawings by still life artists themselves.

As a reflection on representations on biodiversity in art, this contribution considers the breadth of marine species highlighted in one work by British Surrealist, Eileen Agar (1899-1991). Much of her work relates to the natural world, especially the sea as an ecosystem and all the life within it, referred to here as the marine.

Iseeyou (2013) is a short film essay by Simon Gush, depicting Johannesburg’s representations of mining. The film deftly questions what is at stake in the visibility and invisibility of labor.

In the endless debate between the old and the new, does sentimentality get in the way? How do we reconcile the desire to preserve the urban landscapes of the past with the need to meet the living needs of the present?