Fernanda X. Oyarzún

I am a visual and embodied artist and interdisciplinary researcher. I explore the world through process- and place-based creative practices. I am interested in conceptions of the individual and the collective in humans and non-humans as holobionts—interconnected and collaborative watery ecosystems—their ecology and evolution, and their relationships with non-living yet vibrant matter. My scientific research, which fuels and weaves into my arts-and-science explorations, focuses on the ecology and evolution of life histories in marine invertebrates, reproduction, and maternal care. Navigating between artistic and scientific inquiry, I am drawn to stories, memory, uncertainty, time, and beauty, investigating the embodied generation of knowledge that weaves them together.

I hold a PhD in Biology from the University of Washington (USA) and a degree in Biology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. I am a Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of the Program for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at UW Bothell. I also hold a Certificate in Editorial Design from the University of Chile and received training in Scientific Illustration at UW. My artistic practice is rooted in clay and ceramic sculpture, which I studied at the University of Washington’s Art Department and at Pottery Northwest while pursuing my PhD. This path has led me to create sculptures that explore epistemological and interdisciplinary themes connected to ecology, evolution, and coastal marine knowledge. I am deeply grateful for the guidance of mentors including artists Doug Jeck, Tip Toland, Akio Takamori, and Jamie Walker; philosopher Lynn Hankinson-Nelson; and scientists Richard and Megumi Strathmann, Martha Groom, Miriam Fernández, Billie Swalla and Rebecca Price. My path and practice have also been shaped by residencies at the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Artist-at-Sea Program, the Artist-in-Residence program at Friday Harbor Laboratories (UW), and the Centro d’Arte e Natura di Civitella di Licenza, Italy. My artwork has been exhibited in Chile and internationally, including at the Cretaquarium (Greece), the Ocean Science Meeting (San Diego, USA), and the Personal Structures Biennial in Venice (Italy).

I have co-founded several interdisciplinary and co-creative projects, including Bienal Concepción, Arte & Ciencia and Tiempos de Muralismo. I have also co-created projects centered on pedagogy, communication, and the visualization of science, such as ASKXXI: Art + Science Knowledge Building and Sharing in the XXI Century—conducted in collaboration with the US Embassy—and Proyecto Robsonella, an educational illustration initiative. At present, I work part-time as an Associate Researcher at the Instituto Milenio en Socioecología Costera (SECOS), where I lead the arts + science research area. Alongside this collaborative work, I sustain my independent practice as a visual artist, both in the studio and in nature in my hometown of Puerto Varas, Chile.