In honor of our People Issue, which will hit newsstands and computer screens November 25, Cultist proudly presents "100 Creatives," where we feature Miami's cultural superheroes in random order. Have suggestions for future profiles? Email [email protected] with the whos and whys.
82. Colin Foord
As aquaculturists, the two collect and clone soft corals. As artists (Morphologic Studios), the sea creatures serve as their muse. Their aquatic aesthetic has seeped into galleries (read about their recent "Flower Animal") and onto band posters (check out this one for Surfer Blood). Beyond their work underwater, Foord and McKay are invested in the local music scene and run Discosoma Records, the label of Plains, Beings, and ANR. They'd also like to see Miami get a public aquarium so we can show off the community of trippy, glowing critters that live just off our shore.
1. List five things that inspire you.
-Mike Watt and D. Boon
-Underwater exploration
-Coral reefs
-The resilience and tenacity of all life
-The city of Miami; its artists, musicians, and contributors
2. What was your last big project?
We (Coral Morphologic) recently renovated a 1940s warehouse (and previously a church) on a small canal off the Miami River in Overtown to house our coral aquaculture lab and studio. Aside from the electrical hard-wiring, we've done everything ourselves. Removing the old linoleum and all that goes along with properly re-sealing with epoxy was a lot more time consuming than we originally anticipated! We still have quite a ways to go in outfitting our coral lab and studio with all the equipment we need, but it is great to have finally molted out of our home-based lab/studio.
3. What's your next big project?
We've been granted by the Knight Foundation to produce three large-scale video projections of fluorescent corals and jellyfish on public buildings across the city during Art Basel. The idea is to create the illusion of a coral reef encrusting the city. Much of our artistic metaphors revolve around the idea that the city of Miami is much like a reef. In fact, most of the cement used in Miami's construction is basically pulverized coral skeleton fossils. What we know as South Florida has been underwater five times in the past 100,000 years.
4. Why do you do what you do?
I believe that aquariums are good for both the brain and soul. Also, I think it is ridiculous that there isn't a public aquarium in Miami. I discount the Seaquarium as an outdated 'marine mammal amusement park' (that is privately owned/operated). They really lag behind most public aquariums with regards to showcasing living reef tanks. If there is one city in the U.S. that ought to have a world-class public aquarium with a focus on fluorescent corals and psychedelic sea creatures, it should be Miami. I believe that a good public aquarium is just as culturally important as an art museum. So until Miami gets a proper aquarium, we plan on bringing as much fluorescent coral reef imagery into the city as possible, as a reminder of the colorful life beyond our beaches.
5. What's something you want Miami to know about you?
I used to manage ANR back in 2005-2006 and helped Lolo from Sweat Records put out their (and her) first vinyl record.
What's something you don't want Miami to know about you?
I have an unexplainable berry phobia; raspberries are the worst.
The Creatives so far:
83. Karelle Levy
84. Matt Gajewski
85. Antonia Wright
86. Charles Allen Klein
87. Christy Gast
88. Gustavo Matamoros
89. Shareen Rubiera-Sarwar
90. Kyle Trowbridge
91. Clifton Childree
92. Jessica Gross
93. Danny Brito
94. Nektar de Stagni
95. Anthony Spinello
96. Vanessa Garcia
97. Justin Long
98. Rosie Herrera
99. Rick Falcon
100. Ingrid B
