Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath
Experience the ocean like never before
Experience the ocean like never before
Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath is not an exhibition about the ocean, but an immersion into it. Grounded in UNESCO's Seven Ocean Literacy Principles, it blends art, science, and technology to transport visitors to depths few humans have explored. Featuring international artworks and multisensory as well as interactive experiences, it reimagines how the ocean is seen, felt, and understood — moving audiences from curiosity to connection, and from connection to commitment
sequences of rare and never-before-seen footage create a powerful visual encounter with the ocean
leading artists and creators at the intersection of art and science come together to bring the exhibition to life
installations including 6 newly commissioned works transport visitors into the deep in a first-of-its kind ocean experience
interactive experiences created by OceanX, university partners & the OceanX Changemaker community transform ocean understanding
Descend into the ocean's depths. Emerge ready to protect it.
Spanning five zones and a site-specific installation, the experience takes visitors from the ocean's sunlit surface to the darkest edges of the abyss. It blends works by internationally renowned artists and creators with immersive experiences developed by OceanX alongside university partners and OceanX Hackathon alumni to evoke curiosity and wonder while connecting visitors directly to real-world conservation.
1. Descent: Surface to Depth
The journey begins aboard the research vessel OceanXplorer, where visitors descend by submersible from the ocean's surface into the deep. A 180-degree curved projection room simulates the launch, immersing visitors in marine soundscapes that blur the boundary between museum and ocean, and introducing the vastness and mystery of remote ecosystems, rare species, and ancient geological formations.
2. Photic Zone: 0–200m
The sunlit upper ocean teems with life, brought to vivid detail through OceanX footage. Visitors explore coral research from NUS's Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Marco Barotti's acoustic enrichment installations, Sissel Tolaas's scent experiences, and Robertina Šebjanič's examination of human impact on this fragile layer. OceanX-developed experiences include the interactive Dive & Discover, created with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and MAGES Institute, and eDNA Detectives, created with Ong Kian Peng and the University of Bristol, which invites visitors to detect marine life through environmental DNA. bit.studio visualises the coordinated movement of ocean species.
3. Twilight Zone: 200–1,000m
In the dimly lit mesopelagic realm, visitors witness the largest animal migration on Earth, a nightly vertical movement of creatures between depths. The interactive DataXplorer, developed by OceanX with the University of Bristol and James Honeyborne, lets visitors embody an ocean current and explore depth data. Marshmallow Laser Feast translates echolocation and non-human perception into immersive spatial works, while Lachlan Turczan transforms sound and energy into shifting bioluminescent forms, and a dendrogram maps the evolutionary connections between surface and deep-sea species.
4. Aphotic Zone: 1,000m–Abyss
Beyond 1,000 metres to the Mariana Trench at nearly 11,000m, life survives through bioluminescence, chemical energy, and extraordinary adaptation. Jana Winderen's recordings from extreme marine environments invite deep listening, while OceanX footage and specimens from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum offer rare glimpses of deep-sea creatures, and James Honeyborne recounts OceanX's expedition to the world's hypersaline brine pools, filmed during Blue Planet II.
5. Resurface: Return to the Shallows
Emerging from the depths, visitors return to shallow coastal waters where seagrass meadows, powerful blue carbon stores and vital marine nurseries, take centre stage. The interactive Seagrass Stories, developed by OceanX with marine ecologist Nada Abdelkader, the University of Bristol, and James Honeyborne, lets visitors plant virtual seagrass using gestures inspired by traditional Tunisian fishing traps. The zone closes with a real-world call to action through a WWF partnership, connecting the exhibition to regional seagrass restoration efforts.
Plan Your Descent
The deep ocean is closer than you think. June - November 2026 at ArtScience Museum Singapore.
Explore the Immersive Experiences
Science reveals the ocean. Art connects us to it. Experience moves us to act.
Debuting at Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath, five immersive experiences created by OceanX in collaboration with leading university partners and OceanX Hackathon alumni, transform how we understand and interact with the ocean.
Dive & Discover: A submersible simulation where visitors pilot through coral reefs, scanning and discovering marine life with real scientific data.
DataXplorer: An interactive deep sea data journey where players explore real ocean conditions to uncover a hidden deep-sea current that powers global ocean circulation and helps regulate Earth's climate.
eDNA Detectives: An ocean mystery where players discover how cutting-edge eDNA science can uncover the invisible traces marine organisms leave behind and uncover who's behind an underwater heist.
Seagrass Stories: A hands-on underwater experience where players work together to restore a damaged seagrass meadow and watch an ocean ecosystem come back to life.
Ocean Protectors: A playful, interactive meet-and-greet in ArtScience Lab where storytelling, science, and technology transform visitors into characters that inspire curiosity and empathy through embodiment.
Discover More from ArtScience Museum
Deep Shift: Into the Ocean Opening Symposium
By foregrounding the ocean as a dynamic, interdependent system, Deep Shift embraces an oceanic worldview that frames it as a shared planetary commons. The symposium explores shifts in perception that might inspire new practices, fostering empathy and responsibility for the marine ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. 6 Jun (Sat), 2pm – 6.30pm.
Immersive Ecologies: Sensing the Unseen with Marshmallow Laser Feast
London-based experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) works at the limits of perception, translating complex living systems into immersive experiences where bodies and environments converge. 13 Jun (Sat), 2pm – 4pm.
ArtScience Encounters: Jana Winderen Live
Oslo-based Norwegian sound artist Jana Winderen activates ArtScience Museum’s Oculus as a resonant body attuned to the acoustic life of the ocean in a live performance. 5 Jun (Fri), 7pm – 7.45pm.
Dive Deeper into OceanX Education
OceanX Education turns ocean science into immersive learning experiences and events designed to spark curiosity, unlock career opportunities, and mobilize global momentum for our blue planet.