@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2026.1497, 

TITLE={Isle of Coral: an Art-Science dialogue on Marine Human-Nature relationship}, 
  
AUTHOR={Isabel Urbina-Barreto
, Simon Rouby, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Art and Science}, 
	
VOLUME={10}, 

NUMBER={Issue 3}, 
	
YEAR={2026}, 

URL={https://openscience.fr/Isle-of-Coral-an-Art-Science-dialogue-on-Marine-Human-Nature-relationship}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2026.1497}, 
	
ISSN={2515-8767}, 
	
ABSTRACT={Coral reefs of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) are among the most biodiverse and most threatened marine socio-ecosystems on the planet, yet conventional science mediation often lacks the indigenous (i.e. local) knowledge and innovative, locally adapted approaches needed to produce genuine, long-term engagement. This article presents Isle of Coral, an Art-Science co-creation programme built through an ongoing dialogue between a marine biologist and a visual artist, where scientific data, indigenous knowledge and artistic practice come together. The collaboration takes form through immersive video installations, monumental façade projections, and collages built from underwater SfM photogrammetry, alongside original music, oral storytelling, and ceramic works exploring a coral bleaching event and the wider stakes of reef conservation. Rather than purely bio-physiological, bleaching is woven together with Mahorais, Comorian, and Malagasy beliefs and customary codes - Djinns, Marids, Fady (taboos) - that long governed human relationships with reefs before the Western concept of marine protected areas. We describe the project’s narrative architecture and participatory methodology, co-created with local communities, schools, and knowledge holders, and its measurable reach through festivals, museums, and school programmes. Finally, we discuss how treating indigenous knowledge as a genuine epistemic contributor extends the durability of conservation messaging. We outline the scalable co-creation model in the WIO and other reef socio-eco-systems worldwide.}}