Take a deep dive into the world beyond the light of the surface at ArtScience Museum’s latest exhibition, Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath.
Presented in collaboration with OceanX, one of the world’s leading ocean exploration organisations, the multi-sensory exhibition blends art, science and cutting-edge technology to transport visitors into the ocean’s furthest reaches.
Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath at ArtScience Museum
The Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath exhibition at ArtScience Museum takes visitors on a journey into the deepest depths of the earth through six different zones.
Starting onboard OceanX’s state-of-the-art research vessel are taken to the Descent Zone before passing through the Photic Zone, Twilight Zone, Aphotic Zone, before finally returning to the surface.
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As visitors pass through each zone, they will discover a new layer of the ocean.
Zones 1 & 2: Descent
Entering through a narrow passageway, visitors step into the charged atmosphere of a working ship as the crew prepare for an ocean exploration mission.
Visitors then step into the submersible, sealing the hatch behind them as the journey beneath the ocean’s surface begins.
Light gradually disappears as they descend into darkness and discover in one of the most unexplored parts of the Earth.
By the end of Descent, visitors will view the ocean as an intricate, interconnected system, and understand their vulnerability to environmental change and human impact.
Zone 3: Photic Zone
The Photic Zone spans from the Earth’s surface to about 200 metres below.
The sun is still able to penetrate this zone and it is powered by photosynthesis which produces vast amounts of oxygen. This forms the building blocks of marine food chains.
Visitors will learn about the biodiversity found in this zone, from microscopic plankton to corals and marine megafauna.
Learn about the intricate systems that sustain reef life, shaped by mutually beneficial relationships between corals and photosynthetic algae known as zooxanthellae.
This zone of the Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath exhibition also explores how reefs function as dynamic, interconnected environments, from the movement of nutrients through reef food webs to the provision of shelter and the regulation of marine populations.
Look out for Flock of by bit.studio, a Thailand-based creative technology studio. This installation of kinetic helium-filled balloons move continuously and are designed to resemble a school of fish.
Each “fish” drifts independently yet remains attuned to the movements of the others, creating ever-shifting composition that changes in real time. The “fish” interact with visitors moving through the space, encouraging visitors to reflect on the balance between individual and group behaviour.
Also look out for The Ocean in Motion. This features OceanX footage of marine life in constant motion against the vast blue of the Photic Zone.
Zone 4: Twilight Zone
In Twilight Zone, visitors are introduced to the section of the deep ocean which extends from approximately 200 to 1,000 metres below the surface. Here, the environment is characterised by low light, cold temperatures and high pressure.
Yet, it is home to a large and active concentration of marine life.
Discover the phenomenon of vertical diel migration, where vast numbers of organisms travel toward surface waters at night to feed and return to the depths during the day.
As visitors descend, changes in temperature and salinity reveal how the ocean is a system organised into distinct layers shaped by differences in density and movement.
Through touch-responsive visuals, visitors can activate and uncover deep-sea currents across the ocean. This allows them to discover ecosystems sustained by these currents, including deep-sea corals that depend on nutrients transported from distant regions.
Stepping closer to the data wall, visitors’ movements allow them to embody an ocean current and see how their actions influence the flow of life.
An installation to look out for is Seeing Echoes in the Mind of the Whale. This large-scale installation by London-based artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast invites visitors to experience the ocean through the unique sensory world of whales.
Using hydrophone recordings, underwater videography, scientific research and real-time computing, the work transforms the gallery into a vivid, spatial environment where echoes, vibrations and shifting frequencies reveal how whales perceive their surroundings.
Zone 5: Aphotic Zone
Stretching from approximately 1,000 metres below the ocean’s surface to the seafloor, the Aphotic Zone makes up the largest portion of the ocean.
Visitors are introduced to environments of permanent darkness, cold temperatures and extreme pressure, including the deepest parts of the ocean such as the Mariana Trench.
Visitors learn how life in the Aphotic Zone survives without sunlight, relying on sinking organic matter or chemical energy rather than photosynthesis.
This has resulted in extraordinary adaptations such as some species producing their own light through bioluminescence and heightened senses that detect vibrations and chemical signals.
The installation here, Towards Abyssal Plains, is a sound work by Norwegian artist Jana Winderen that traces a vertical descent into deep-ocean environments. It focuses on how sound changes across layers shaped by pressure, temperature, salinity and depth, emphasising the practice of deep listening.
There is also a wall of footage that showcases the extraordinary deep-sea creatures and corals captured during OceanX’s research expeditions.
This features visuals presented across multiple screens, revealing life thriving in the ocean’s darkest depths, below 1,000 metres, where sunlight cannot reach and temperatures hover around 4°C.
Species featured in the footage include squat lobster, headless chicken monster, vampire squid, atolla jelly and more.
Zone 6: Resurface
The concluding gallery of the ArtScience Museum and OceanX exhibition shifts the focus shifts to shallow coastal waters, where vibrant seagrass meadows play a vital role as nurseries for countless marine species and act as powerful allies in combating climate change.
Developed with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Singapore, Seagrass Stories: Help the Ocean to Heal invites visitors to take part in real restoration techniques linked to conservation projects across the region.
The People of OceanX section highlights the inspiring stories behind deep-sea exploration.
Smellscape of the Invisible Ocean
Running throughout the exhibition is Invisible Ocean by Sissel Tolaas, an olfactory work that translates oceanic environments into evocative “smellscapes.”
Drawing on ocean samples from the coasts of Costa Rica and molecular chemistry research, the work allows visitors to experience the ocean’s biodiversity and fragility through scent alone.
Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath Exhibition
Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath runs from 6 June 2026 till 1 November 2026.
Get more details about this ArtScience Museum exhibition.
