research platform

Lead Researcher & Platform Director

Lisa Chang Lee

South of the Sea is an interdisciplinary research platform focused on the entanglement between biodiversity loss, language extinction, and planetary ecological crises. Rooted in field-based research on Hainan Island’s tropical rainforest and the endangered knowledge systems of the Li community, the project weaves together environmental history, indigenous cosmologies, neuroscience, and artistic practice.

As the global ecological crisis accelerates, we propose a new way of listening to the planet—not through borders and extractive models, but through biolinguistic diversity, multispecies communication, and intercultural ecological knowledge.

The platform is currently seeking collaborators and institutional partners for the development of:

  • International fieldwork and public engagement programming,

  • A cross-institutional cluster of artists, scientists, and humanities researchers.

Project Components

  • Biolinguistic Field Research: Indigenous languages and non-human communication in biodiversity hotspots (e.g. Hainan, Pacific Islands, Amazon).

  • Sound & Language Archive: A multimedia collection of endangered linguistic ecologies and bioacoustic material.

  • Planetary Listening Lab: A workshop and public research framework integrating sound, translation, species loss, and climate grief.

  • Art-Science Public Engagement: Exhibitions, installations, and screenings drawing from documentary footage, field recordings, and multisensory archives.

  • Pedagogical Integration: Involvement of MA, MFA, and PhD students in field schools, collaborative research, and decentralised learning across cultures.

  • Research Publications & Artists' Books

Call to Collaborate

We welcome conversations with:

  • Artists, Researchers or institutions willing to contribute to the platform.

  • Co-Investigators in environmental humanities, linguistics, neuroscience, conservation biology, and creative technologies.

  • Institutions interested in hosting exhibitions, workshops, or field research residencies.

  • Funders and publishing partners exploring planetary imaginaries, Indigenous futures, and environmental repair.

Contact

Lisa Chang Lee

lisachangleestudio@gmail.com

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To Be Continued