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Ocean noise, chemical pollution, climate change and sea level rise are words that often appear in the news. But these important concepts can be hard to make sense of—or to understand at all.
That's where artist Jenny Kendler comes in. Her new exhibit, Other of Pearl, confronts these pressing environmental issues in ways that feel more accessible with stirring whale songs, incredible pearl sculptures, a crystalline whale eye cast with human tears, and more. You can see these powerful works for free on Wednesdays-Sundays from 10am-5pm now through October on Governors Island.
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Seven intimate, delicate works are displayed in the cavernous, subterranean magazine of historic Fort Jay, a star-shaped fortification built on Governors Island between 1775 and 1776. In darkened rooms that echo with whale song, you'll get to see pearl sculptures grown inside oysters, bells rung by fossilized whale ear bones, a crystalline whale eye cast of sea salt and human tears, glass vials filled with oil from long-dead whales, and a human nervous system meticulously strung from thousands of tiny pearls.
In the adjoining galleries, two large handblown glass instruments evoke the organs humpback and sperm whales use to communicate, inviting visitors’ sonic activation. The artist considers the oyster and whale as central players in the ecological and economic entanglement between human and nonhuman beings. David Gruber of Project CETI provided the whale recordings that become part of these sound works.
After the exhibition ends, pearl sculptures from the show will be auctioned to raise funds to help create a new oyster reef alongside project partner Billion Oyster Project, redistributing resources in a gesture of ecological restoration.
The artwork, presented by Governors Island Arts and the Natural Resources Defense Council, tells the story of human relationship with the natural world and explores possibilities for ecological restoration.
"While climate change can be overwhelming, confusing and polarizing—art has a unique ability to reach people and help us process the challenge," said Kristin Wilson-Palmer, chief communications officer for NRDC. "This beautiful and powerful new exhibit from Jenny Kendler brings people together for reflection and conversation on the most significant environmental challenge of our time—and, hopefully, will inspire them to act."
Other of Pearl is Kendler’s first solo exhibition in New York City. It's also the first public art exhibition opening on Governors Island since Governors Island’s new head curator and vice president for arts and culture, Lauren Haynes, began her role in March 2024.
As an interdisciplinary ecological artist, environmental activist, naturalist and wild forager, Kendler focuses on climate change and biodiversity loss as she works to "re-enchant our relationship to the more-than human-world."
The artwork is supported by the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, Donald R. Mullen Family Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Gottesman Fund, Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional support for Other of Pearl is provided by the Ripple Foundation as well as Roseate Jewelry.