LaJuné McMillian: Child/ren of the Bloom

"Child/ren of the Bloom" is an interactive, multidisciplinary installation at Pioneer Works that explores the threshold between land and sea and the body's return to its origins. It was created by artist LaJuné McMillian as the culmination of a residency developed with OceanX Education in partnership with Pioneer Works, transforming her research on phytoplankton, algal blooms, and bioluminescence into a spiritual, embodied encounter with oceanic systems. The exhibition follows Child, a recurring avatar in the artist's work, through a first threshold crossing in which dissolving into oceanic life becomes a metaphor for an early encounter with the spirit world. Visitors can move their hands before a sensor-driven, floor-to-ceiling video installation that shifts between satellite views of algal blooms and close-ups of individual phytoplankton, alongside holographic displays, beaded embroidery, prayers and voiceovers, and a virtual oracle that invites conversation with Child.