Balance. Is it real? We like to talk about equilibrium in ecological relationships, but that's a rare state. What's more usual is flux, from a gentle sway to an explosive sundering. Balance pleases the mind and appeals to aesthetics, and we use it to find something to hope for. We might do better to devote ourselves to a future roiling like the crashing end of a wave.
Banggai Cardinalfishes bobbing in the fronds of a crinoid- this is a vision of equilibrium at the small scale. When the surf surges, the fish and the feathers move with it, and return to their places as the energy passes by. Something to strive for, or at least to remember.
This is an edition of a cut made for an installation at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR.
