World Aquarium
2026 On view
Artist Max Hooper Schneider
DetailsCustom acrylic aquarium, freshwater ecosystem, robotic organisms, antique uranium glass, steel assemblages, found objects, site-specific junk and detritus, dyed urethane whale bones, LED canopy lightbox, filtration system, pneumatic actuators, coded computer software and custom electronics, steel frame base
Curator Jordan Carter
Address
101 Chouteau Ave
St. Louis, MO
Artwork Details
About the Artwork
Max Hooper Schneider creates uncanny habitat-like installations that materialize and dramatize natural and artificial systems. His World Aquarium transforms the former World Aquarium in Chouteau’s Landing into a living sculptural ecology. Installed in the industrial building that housed the World Aquarium until its permanent closure in 2019, the work salvages architectural remnants and operational debris, turning them into a large, aquarium-like reliquary that hosts robotic aquatic organisms. Inside, processes of life, decay, and reconfiguration are staged in real time. The tank’s neon green glow references St. Louis’s industrial and environmental history, including its role in uranium processing during the Manhattan Project and the long afterlives of radioactive material in the region.
A very special thanks to robot artist Michael Candy.
Courtesy the artist, Maureen Paley, London, and Francois Ghebaly, Los Angeles.