The Waves Are Rising features an animated augmented reality (AR) wave on a large scale LED screen, superimposed upon live video feed video of the still waters of The Royal Docks, filling the vista of the usually calm waterscape with an animated surging wave as well as detritus and data from the high seas.

As fewer people travel by ship now, we are now more divorced from understanding its turbulence and power, which is exacerbated by climate change. The augmented reality wave references this untamed nature of the deep sea, the rising seas due to global warming, the waves of capital, trade and immigration brought to the Royal Docks as a part of its history as well as wave patterns in print and fabrics and the wave in art history and popular culture (from Hokusai’s famous ‘Great Wave’ print, to its reproduction as an apple emoji).

‘Seven Seas’- AR text poems, accompanied The Waves Are Rising. These poems could be located through QR codes by the installation.