A large-scale science-art installation that highlights the danger plastic pollution poses to marine life has been installed in the Holmes Dining Hall. The work, ETERNAL: BLOOM, was made by artist, scientist, educator and Lyman Briggs College alumna Maris Polanco (Class of 2014, Human Biology).

ETERNAL: BLOOM is a group of jellyfish suspended from the ceiling, along a 46-foot-long wall, with tentacles transcending the space of its aqueous blue and glowing purple environment into the seating space of the dining hall. A closer inspection reveals that the jellies are made of plastic pollutants: bodies, tentacles, and oral arms woven from single-use plastic Meijer, Kroger and Target bags.

The art is compelling and the reality of plastic in the oceans is sobering. Billions of pounds of plastic enter the world's oceans each year. Undigestible heaps of fishing nets and plastic bags are routinely found in the stomachs of deceased whales, dolphins, sea turtles and sea birds. It is estimated that one million marine animals die every year after consuming plastic. The resemblance of a floating shopping bag to a jellyfish is thought to be behind some cases of intentional plastic ingestion by dolphins and turtles.

Polanco first installed her original jellyfish sculpture, ETERNAL, for an exhibition called "Depth" by Michigan State University's Science Gallery at the Michigan Science Center. The 60-foot-long sculpture was subsequently displayed in the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. as part of a LabX production, The ETERNAL Experience.

The sequel, ETERNAL: BLOOM was commissioned by Lyman Briggs College in 2021. It was made possible through the Lyman Briggs Arts Enrichment Fund, Edward C. Ingraham (director emeritus of Lyman Briggs School) and Martha Mertz.

To learn more about the installation, visit lbc.msu.edu