Cyber wedding to the brine shrimp

Inspired by the ecosexual weddings by Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, cyber-nympho artist-brides, Ewelina Jarosz and Justyna Górowska married the brine shrimp on the 14th of September 2021. The interspecies ceremony can be witnessed by the public in the multispecies documentary video “Cyber wedding to the brine shrimp”, enhanced with augmented reality technology. The vows to the brine shrimp of the Great Salt Lake were made on the Rozel Point peninsula near the “Spiral Jetty” (1970), a land artwork by Robert Smithson. The digital ecosexual ceremony was the first more-than-human wedding event in the world using Augmented Reality to create the brine shrimp brides/grooms out of digital air. Every person using an Android smartphone was able to enjoy being in digital nature and explore the posthuman community in augmented reality thanks to Artemia App.

This special art project is our response to the shrinking Great Salt Lake, which dropped this year to its lowest levels in recorded history. The catastrophic condition of Utah’s so-called natural wonder is attributed to the ongoing extreme drought and the reduced snowpack, a part of global climate change processes. The brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) is one of the oldest and most precious inhabitants of The Great Salt Lake. These tiny crustaceans, with precarious bodies and extra strong eggs, are a pillar of the local ecosystem and a crucial link in a food chain that feeds fish and millions of migratory birds. You may also know them as “sea monkeys,” a magic instant life product that has been sold mostly to children in America since 1957.

Ecosexuals declare: Save the brine shrimp! Free the sea monkeys! We fell in love with brine shrimp because they are a fascinating element of the depleting biodiversity of The Great Salt Lake, although due to their survival capabilities they will most likely outlive humans. Take a peek into the life of these beautiful creatures and you will fall in love with them and want to marry them too!

Conceptual director: Ewelina Jarosz

Artistic director and AR specialist Justyna Górowska

Director of the performance: Joy Brooke Fairfield

Ecosexual performance consultants: Annie Sprinkle, Beth Stephens

Cinematographer: James McAllister

Sound recording: Chris Lippard

The performance Cyber Wedding to the Brine Shrimp is based on the concept of original ecosexual wedding performances by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, to whom we convey our special thanks. We would also like to thank the biologists, dr Bonnie Baxter, Jaimi Butler, and Dr David Parrott from Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College in Utah for their welcoming, support, and scientific advisory on the project.  Warm thanks to Ragi Dindial for his advice.

Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York.