Aligned Waters collects 'seascape' photographs from Unsplash and presents them as a scrollable image collection.
Aligned Waters installation at Clive Davis GalleryProcess
From 5,111 search results for "sea horizon", I picked 3,152 images with a clear horizon line on both sides, and manually labeled the y-coordinate of the horizon line in each image.
Unsplash search results for 'sea horizon'
Horizon Labeling ToolI built a custom web-based horizon labeling tool to label the horizon lines. The process takes about 2 hours.
Images are aligned by the horizons and ordered chronologically based on the user upload date.
Panorama of aligned waters
In the image set, the earliest image dates back to 2016.
Details of a seascape image taken in 2016
Details of a seascape image taken in 2025For the installation, the scrolling is controlled by a knob.
Aligned Waters installation in motion
Exhibition
Aligned Waters installation at Clive Davis Gallery
Toolish Behavior at Clive Davis Gallery2025, Toolish Behavior. Group exhibition at Clive Davis Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Curated by Shuang Cai, the show features 11 artists and the tools they created, presenting both as equal parts of the creative process.
