Twilight explores the extraordinary diversity of jellyfish inhabiting the ocean’s mesopelagic “twilight zone,” approximately 300 feet below the surface. At first glance, the composition appears as a luminous constellation of ethereal marine life, pulsing gently in a realm apart from our own. Yet on closer inspection, a deeper narrative emerges—one of imbalance and resilience as species navigate the profound pressures of human impact.

Jellyfish, ancient survivors that have drifted through Earth’s oceans for over 500 million years, now stand as both symbols of fragility and harbingers of ecological change. The Santa’s Hat Jelly and the bioluminescent Purple People Eater, once celebrated for their beauty, are increasingly considered invasive, disrupting food webs and coastal economies. Human activities—from plastic pollution and deep-sea mining to the warming of ocean waters—have amplified their proliferation while degrading coral reef ecosystems. In the foreground, an iron chain buried beneath the reef references how even discarded human artifacts can destabilize delicate microbiomes, hastening coral decline.

Yet amidst this ecological tension, Twilight highlights remarkable adaptations. Tiny crab larvae hitch rides on drifting jellyfish to escape predators, while the Immortal Jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) demonstrates an unparalleled capacity for cellular renewal, reverting to its juvenile stage after reaching maturity. This work invites viewers to marvel at the spellbinding forms of these bioluminescent creatures while reflecting on their complex role in rapidly changing oceans.

Special thanks to biologists Steven Haddock and Wyatt Patry (Monterey Bay Aquarium), Alexander Semenov (White Sea Biological Station, Moscow State University), and Bart Shepard (California Academy of Sciences) for their guidance in bringing this vision to life.

Species List:

• Torritopsis dohrnii, as far as we know it is the only immortal creature on this planet. When threatened, the “immortal jellyfish” can hit the reset button and revert back to the polyp stage to start its life all over again. The secret to an eternal life, is all about never maturing, staying young forever. This little jelly has also become an aggressive invader, hitchhiking all over the world on the ballasts of cargo ships, swarming the worlds oceans. 

• The two largest jellies in my jellyfish commission featured here are the Aequorea Jelly on the left, and the Purple People Eater Pelagia noctiluca on the right. The glowing deep sea Helmet Jellyfish Periphylla periphylla, uses bioluminescence to confuse predators. Apparently because of the unique bioluminescent attributes of this Aequorea jelly, scientists expect an entirely new generation of useful inquiries into bioimaging and biosensing.

• The rare Peppermint Angelfish Paracebtropyge boylei, found in the icy depths around the Cook Islands, is perhaps one of the smallest things in the world that is worth so much. Known as the ‘holy grail’ by some aquarium hobbyists, each fish can cost as much as $30,000.

• The little deep sea hydrozoan jellyfish are called Aglantha digitale, found in the White Sea.

• Santa’s Hat Jelly Periphylla periphylla

• Purple People Eater Pelagia noctuluca

• Immortal Jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii - Nutricula is a small jellyfish that transfers its cells back to childhood once it reaches adulthood.

• bobtail squid, several whip coral species, and fish