coral morphologic

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and the flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

Rachel Carson

Coral Morphologic is the leading creator of innovative underwater media chronicling Earth's imperilled coral reefs. The project was founded in 2007 by marine biologist Colin Foord and musician J.D. McKay in Miami as a multi-faceted platform for the development of symbiosis between humans and coral. Their unique methodology blends science and art in a way that enamours popular culture with the beauty of coral while inspiring the next generation to restore the reefs and protect the planet.

"These days, with more and more of our daily lives' being spent indoors and influenced by algorithms, it's common to feel a disconnection with nature. Through our work, we aim to remind everyone that we cannot give up on the fact that individuals can change the world for the better and that each drop in the ocean, indeed, does count. Our approach of communicating the beauty and importance of coral reefs to pop culture in a variety of ways is an example of how to re-engage people with a sense of natural wonder and how that may lead to meaningful actions, either small or large."

Colin Foord and J.D. McKay

Boxer crab with a missing arm

Emperor shrimp riding on a Spanish nudibranch

Tubastraea colony

Pygmy seahorse closeup

Flower / Animal - a Zoanthus bouquet

Man O War tentacle curtain

Cleaner shrimp relaxing with its anemone friend

Pink skunk clownfish

A Nudibranch

Miami Vice Zoanthus

Aaron Burrfish

Ricordea florida neighbors

Rhodactis osculifera closeup

Fluorescent nudibranch of Biscayne Bay

Acanthophyllia vortex

Phymanthus crucifer anemone

Harlequin Shrimp eating alive the arm of a sea star

Cycloseris Mouth

"It’s only hopeless when you give up. Change happens because of individuals who team up with others or inspire others. And soon you’ve got 10 or 100 or 1,000, and then you've got a movement."

Sylvia Earle

The Coral City Camera is an underwater camera streaming live from an urban coral reef in Miami, Florida. The CCC is a public art and scientific research project by Coral Morphologic produced with Bridge Initiative and Bas Fisher Invitational.

Photo 1- 'Projections of a Coral City', projection mapping the Arsht Center - Miami, 2022 - Photographed by Jorge Gonzalez-Graupera / Photo 2 - Coral Morphologic (Colin Foord & J.D. McKay) portrait in the Coral Morphologic Lab - Miami, 2002 - Photographed by Alfonso Duran / Photo 3 - 'Clytie', projection mapping the Art Deco Welcome Center - Miami Beach, 2010

To learn more about their work, visit @coralmorphologic & coralmorphologic.com.