Oriana Poindexter is an American-Italian photographic artist and marine scientist whose academic background spans photography, fisheries, and marine conservation. She dives, photographs, and collects specimens to create photo-based works that document the ocean’s shifting ecosystems. Her process, rooted in both traditional and alternative photographic techniques, results in light-formed records that engage viewers in contemplating the relationship between humans and the sea.

Poindexter earned an M.A.S. in Marine Biodiversity & Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and a B.A. in Visual Arts from Princeton University. Her work has been published by Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and exhibited at Laguna Art Museum, Oceanside Museum of Art, and Center for Fine Art Photography, among others. She creates exhibits for museums and aquariums, with a year-long solo exhibit currently on view at the Catalina Museum for Art & History. Her works are held in public and private collections across the United States and in Europe.