Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum Takes Visitors Into The Deep Ocean With OceanX Collaboration

For most of us, the ocean begins at the shoreline, with lapping waves at our feet and momentary glimpses of what lies beneath. Yet much of it remains unknown and untouched by human eyes, especially its deepest regions beyond where sunlight can reach. But what if the vast depths could be experienced through immersion rather than submersion? 

At Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum, this mystery now feels closer to home through its latest Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath exhibition (until 1 November 2026), which plunges visitors into the extraordinary life of Earth’s final frontier. Set within the institution’s year-long multidisciplinary season, Forms of Life: Beyond the Human, the exhibition contributes to a wider exploration of life beyond human exceptionalism, spanning themes across multispecies worlds, artificial intelligence, and complex ecological structures. 

“The exhibition is designed to shift perception,” says Adrian George, director of programmes, exhibitions and museum services at ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands. “By making the deep ocean feel immediate and tangible, we encourage visitors to reflect on their own relationship with the natural world, and to leave with a renewed sense of stewardship grounded in knowledge, empathy, and care.” Integral to this immersive experience is OceanX, a nonprofit initiative co-founded by American billionaire investor Ray Dalio and his son Mark Dalio. Their mission carries a clear purpose: to help people better understand the ocean and why it matters through scientific exploration, educational outreach, and advanced technology. 

“People protect what they understand, and they understand what they can experience,” says Mark. This framework informs the exhibition, which he sees as a key milestone in expanding ocean literacy through immersive learning. Visitors can expect an interdisciplinary programme grounded in real expeditions, research missions, and discoveries made possible by advanced submersible technology. “By bringing together science, storytelling, technology, and exploration, the exhibition invites visitors to engage with the ocean in ways that are difficult to achieve through traditional educational approaches alone.” 

Structured like a deep-sea expedition, the exhibition takes visitors through five atmospheric zones: Descent Zone, Photic Zone, Twilight Zone, Aphotic Zone, and Resurface. With each transition, the setting shifts in tone and intensity, echoing the changing conditions of the ocean itself. Rather than building toward a single climax, visitors are guided through a carefully paced progression that mirrors the emotional arc of exploration. As a result, no two visitors experience the zones in quite the same way, creating a highly personal journey depending on what draws their attention. 

Some may find the Descent Zone the most compelling, capturing the charged anticipation of a deep-sea mission. It puts visitors in an exploratory mindset, where immense scale and uncertainty are introduced when entering the ocean’s depths. Others may gravitate toward the Photic Zone, where works by Thailand-based bit.studio, Slovenian artist Robertina Šebjanič, and Italian artist Marco Barotti translate marine ecosystems into sound, movement, and data. The Twilight Zone turns to unseen natural rhythms and is likely to resonate with visitors drawn to animal behaviour and hidden ecological phenomena. It uncovers the concept of ‘diel vertical migration’—the largest animal migration on Earth—and features an installation on whales by London-based artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. 

Further down, the Aphotic Zone reveals the extraordinary adaptability of ocean life in some of the most extreme conditions on Earth. Rare specimens from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore, alongside exclusive OceanX cinematic footage, show organisms persisting in perpetual darkness. A multi-channel sound work by Norwegian artist Jana Winderen accompanies this experience. Resurface, the final zone, speaks most strongly to visitors motivated by environmental engagement. It offers participatory opportunities, including contributions to a real-world seagrass restoration project, and personal stories from OceanX scientists and explorers. 

Invisible Ocean by Norwegian artist and researcher Sissel Tolaas runs throughout the exhibition as an olfactory work that reimagines oceanic environments as evocative smellscapes. Created using samples from the coasts of Costa Rica and molecular chemistry research, it offers visitors an encounter with the ocean’s biodiversity and fragility through scent alone. 

But there is more than meets the eye, far beyond its beauty, wonder, and mystery. George describes the exhibition as an opportunity to see the ocean through a more meaningful lens instead of a romanticised unknown. “Think of this as an opportunity to experience a world that remains largely inaccessible to the general public, yet has a profound impact on our lives. This exhibition is not simply something to see, but something to experience.” 

All he asks of visitors is simply to have a sense of wonder. “Whether experienced alone, with a partner, or in the company of friends and family, the exhibition is designed to be inclusive for all ages and interests. It does not require any sort of prior knowledge of the ocean, only curiosity.” This approachability, he notes, speaks to a broader curatorial view at the institution: “It reflects what we believe at the ArtScience Museum—that when art and science come together, they can expand how we see, feel, and understand the world around us.” 

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