Bihl Haus Arts will host a gallery talk by Professor Patrick Gallagher, PhD (UTSA Anthropology) on the Belize Barrier Reef in conjunction with the exhibition “Below and Above the Waves,” which features images of Coastal Belize fish and anemones by photographer Mark Mayfield. The talk, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 6 in the gallery at 2803 Fredericksburg Road, inside the gates of The Sorrento Apartments.

Gallagher will discuss his recent research that examines the cultural politics of nature and environmental conservation. Specifically, he is interested in how nature comes to be produced through the symbolic and material practices of the sciences of ecology and economics and how these practices come to naturalize economic and social geographies that are the outcomes of deeply uneven social and political histories.

“My recent work has addressed these questions through ethnographic research in coastal Belize concerned with how scientists and citizens developed tools for articulating and representing the value of the Belize Barrier Reef,” Gallagher said.

Mayfield has always loved nature, and it informs his photographic practice today. A childhood fascination with his small family aquarium grew into a life-long passion for the inhabitants of coral reefs around the world.  Sadly, many of the coral environments in this group of photographs, such as the Belize Barrier Reef, which were taken several years ago, have been greatly diminished due to coral bleaching. In recent years, birding has become part of his outdoor adventures and he’s also taken a big interest in plants. This exhibition, which combines these interests, challenges viewers to become good stewards and be mindful of the planet we inhabit.