An accomplished artist and commercial diver, Dr. Sarah Jane Pell consults, produces and performs underwater media and designs interdisciplinary sci-art laboratories as new forms of live art and civilian space analogues. She is TED Fellow and Freedman Foundation Travelling Art Scholar.
Pell began exhibiting award-winning works in national galleries, festivals and museums as a teenager. Her first solo shows were at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1997/8. Other exposition highlights include: the Western Australian Maritime Museum; Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; National Review of Live Art; International Symposium of Electronic Arts ISEA; Thailand New Media Arts Festival MAP; Taiwan National Museum, Museum of Fine Arts; Live Art Surgery UK; Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth BEAP; Bonnington Gallery; GreenMuseum.Org; Adelaide Festival of the Arts; SPARTEN Space Art Environment, Reykjavik Arts Festival and 2m2 Gallery Stavenger. In 2002 Pell founded ARTi the Aquabatics Research Team initiative: an underwater multimedia lab and production group.
She has logged 1000+ hours work underwater as a commercial diver and published, performed and exhibited widely on new aquatic art and science and human performance research. Aquabatics has been featured in numerous collections, books, documentary and media including, ACBTV, TIME Magazine, BBC, Popular Science, PAJ A journal of Performance & Art, RealTime, NY Art Magazine, & Art Fairs International. She has published and presented widely – from the International Astronautical Congress to MOMA Brisbane and the TEDU Stage. Her DVD Walking with Water is available on international release with Contemporary Arts Media AU/UK. Leonardo LABS awarded her pioneering PhD proposing Aquabatics as New Works of Live Art the best international PhD Art & Science (English Language), MIT 2007. In 2003, Pell began exploring the performativity of biotechnology and art, collaborating and touring with SymbioticA: the Centre for Excellence in Biological Arts, University of Western Australia. In 2006, Sarah became the first artist to study at the International Space University where she led & co-authored Luna Gaia: a closed loop habitat for the Moon: a study commissioned by NASA Ames/ISU. In 2008 she was invited to the ALTEC Alenia SpA. Neutral Buoyancy Test Facility, Italy to examine the feasibility of VR in underwater astronaut training. Her first Space Art payload was launched onboard SPRITE-SAT Payload H-IIA JAXA (GOSAT) 2009.
In 2010, Sarah Jane joined the Space Team Project of GSP10 at Singularity University, sponsored by NASA Ames. There she established the thinktank Biological Enhancement Space Technologies (BEST); and Founded Liquid Uni: Altered gravity education and entertainment. Dr. Pell was appointed to the European Space Agency ESA Topical Team Art & Science 2011.
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