ARTECHOUSE NYC in Chelsea Market Dives Into the Ocean's Twilight Zone With WHOI

Beneath Chelsea Market, in a boiler room more than a century old, ARTECHOUSE NYC is showing Twilight Zone: Hidden Wonders of the Ocean. The exhibition looks at the ocean's twilight zone, the dim, bioluminescent layer far below the surface, through film, sound and hands-on technology. The venue's own framing is that in this realm strangeness is a strength.

It was produced by ARTECHOUSE Studio in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the private non-profit ocean research organization founded in 1930. ARTECHOUSE Studio has previously worked with scientific institutions including the Society for Neuroscience and NASA. Mehmet Ünal of Tilde Sound Art created the original score and sound design.

The centerpiece is a 24-minute immersive cinematic piece about the nightly migration of animals from the deep to the surface, and about how closely those movements are tied to the health of the planet. Life and processes in the twilight zone help keep the climate cool, and the zone is a critical food source for whales, sharks and high-value fisheries such as swordfish and tuna.

Around the main film are seven interactive installations and six XR activations. In one, you see the twilight zone through the eyes of the Mesobot robot, in a journey inspired by the illustrated book "Where the Weird Things Are." Light installations recreate the ways creatures use bioluminescence to attract mates, deter predators and coordinate movement. An interactive aquarium offers close looks at individual species, a sonar piece turns sound into images, and eDNA analysis shows how much biodiversity exists at these depths, with artistic treatment of the image data.

The space is open Sunday to Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 7 p.m., Friday 12 to 8 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is closed Wednesdays. An XR Bar operates during opening hours (from 12 p.m. on Saturdays). The venue suggests at least 60 to 75 minutes for a visit. The address is 439 W. 15th St., inside Chelsea Market, and tickets are sold online in advance, which the venue recommends for the best availability and a preferred price.