Visakha Museum Hosts ‘Intertidal Wonders’ Celebrating Coastal Ecosystems
The hidden world of Vizag’s coastline has come alive at the Visakha Museum, where artist Nagarjuna Sridhara opened his latest oil painting exhibition, Intertidal Wonders, on Sunday.
Organised in collaboration with the East Coast Conservation Team (ECCT), the exhibition highlights the rich marine life found in Vizag’s intertidal zones — the narrow area between high and low tides where many unique species thrive.
The exhibition will be held in two phases. The first phase displays 27 oil paintings of intertidal species. The second phase, planned for 2026, will continue exploring Vizag’s coastal ecosystems through art.
Sridhara, a graduate of Andhra University and M.S. University, Baroda, is known for blending science with art. He has received the Andhra Pradesh State Cultural Council Award (2003) and a commendation from the Hyderabad Art Society (2004). His works have been exhibited in Mumbai, Baroda, and Bhopal, often focusing on wildlife and conservation themes.
His earlier exhibitions — Flying Tints and Tones (2013), Winged Jewels (2020), Slithering Denizens (Visakha Museum), and An Introduction to Wildlife of Vizag (2023) — reflect his ongoing engagement with nature and ecology.
In Intertidal Wonders, Sridhara highlights Vizag’s rocky shores, shaped by the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, home to some of India’s most diverse marine species. His paintings feature sponges, soft corals, anemones, barnacles, flatworms, hermit crabs, shrimps, sea stars, and reef fish. Together, they tell the story of evolution, from early multicellular life to tunicates, the ancestors of vertebrates.
Throughout the exhibition, marine biologists from ECCT will be present to explain the adaptations and behaviours of these species. “Art can help people understand the science behind nature,” Sridhara said. “We hope visitors leave inspired and more aware of life along our shores.”
Intertidal Wonders is open to visitors on October 13 and 14, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Visakha Museum.