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Photos + Q&A by Domenica Bucalo
How old are you?
Let’s say I am proudly middle aged.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
I didn’t have an ideal profession in mind as a child but was determined to feed my curiosity and sense of adventure. Traveling the world captured my imagination early on and soon the arts came into the picture, first music then photography.
What has been an influential experience in your life as an artist?
In the early 1990s I moved to London, UK, where I ended up living for a couple of years. The experiences I had there and the people I met, significantly shaped my development as an artist. I fully immersed in London’s vibrant culture and got a chance to test the waters.
How did your Arctic Project start?
Photography is a constant exercise in seeing and being seen, allowing us to explore the mysterious properties of light through the camera. A lot of my work questions what is visible and invisible, our relationship with nature and what we want to hide when it becomes unbearable. Waste management has always been a major social issue, more so since the invention of plastics that keep breaking down into smaller pieces dispersing in the ecosystem. This magical material we owe so much to literally changed every aspect of life, unfortunately every technology has a flip side. When I was selected to participate in a residency that takes place sailing in the arctic archipelago of Svalbard, I wondered if plastic particles could be found at those latitudes. To that end I designed and built a net-tow apparatus to sieve the surface of the ocean and collect water samples from that harsh environment. “Voyage of Acceptance” chronicles my quest in a short film.
Can you tell us about your recent NASA collaboration?
Once back home in New York, I reached out to Dr. Dierssen who leads the Coastal Ocean Laboratory for Optics and Remote Sensing at the University of Connecticut. Being already involved in research assessing microplastics on the sea surface, they found my project appealing and helped me analyze my samples. The lab analysis was very complex and time-consuming; we used instruments like SEM (Scanning electron microscope) and FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) and identified both fragments and fibers of different synthetic materials. A few years went by until they told me about their proposal for NASA - a remote sensing study to quantify microplastics from satellites - and invited me to collaborate with imagery for public outreach. Art can be a crucial partner of science conveying complex ideas beyond data that is difficult to understand. I started documenting accumulations of plastic debris in New York’s waterways and gradually shifted my attention to the interaction of light with the atmosphere and the water, focusing on some of the constituents that influence evaluation of plastic from space, phenomena like clouds, aerosols, sunglint, foam, ice, sediment and wind stress. Finally we had an exhibition at the Alexey Von Schlippe Gallery at the University of Connecticut, a second show in St. Petersburg, Florida, during the International Ocean Colour Science Meeting, and some of my work was also part of a group show at the United Nations headquarters.
A planned project on your to-do list?
I’ve been working for many years on a series of nocturnes that examine the symbolic and emotional charge associated with experiencing the natural landscape at night. I photograph remote locations removed from urban light pollution using only the moon as a source of light. My original intention was to capture far-flung sites on all seven continents to celebrate our planet’s grandeur and publish the work in book form. I haven’t been to Australia and Antarctica yet we’ll see what the future holds.
Would you agree that a dance floor is never simply a dance floor?
I agree, we often forget about the profound origins of dance, how it always played a crucial role in ceremonies and rituals, celebrations and entertainment in all cultures, for early and modern humans alike.
Preferred soundtrack while working?
It depends on the work, sometimes it needs to be energizing like afro-beat or punk- rock, other times more meditative like classical or jazz, occasionally silence is required.
Your favorite place in New York
I’ve been living in Brooklyn right by the East River for over 20 years, I walk, jog and cycle regularly on the riverfront and also kayaked the river. I definitely miss its luminous span backed by the Manhattan skyline when I am out of town.
Will you ever leave NY? If yes, where would you go?
It’s hard to tell, New York has a way of gripping you with its challenges and opportunities, but I left my native Italy early in life and sometimes going back to Europe feels plausible.
Domenica Bucalo and Oskar Landi in conversation, August 2025
