Transformative Currents
Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean

Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean, edited by Cassandra Coblentz, brings together a range of writers, scientists, artists, activists, and thinkers—including Angela Mooney D’Arcy, Charles Sepulveda, Elizabeth DeLoughrey, Ziying Duan, and Aaron Katzeman—to investigate urgent social and environmental issues across the Pacific Ocean. This publication addresses a critical gap in art historical literature by exploring the complexities of oceanic and climate narratives while foregrounding Indigenous perspectives in active dialogue with Western voices.

The book’s design reflects the fluidity and interconnectedness of Pacific ecologies and cultural knowledge systems. The cover features a reflective, iridescent surface that evokes the movement and shimmer of water, signaling the book’s focus on transformation, depth, and the complex interrelationships. Interior layouts weave text and image with a rhythm that mirrors the dynamic flow of the ocean itself, with algae paper short sheets that puncture the book with oceanic trips, Indigenous prayers, and dialogues with contributors. The book was printed by Conti, an environmentally focused printing company in Italy known for operating a 100% renewable energy print facility.

The publication accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA), curated by Coblentz with Katzeman and Duan as part of Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.