Whale-Derived Pump (Singapore)
2026
200 x 160 cm
Oil paint mixed with oils distilled from squid, fish, crab, and prawn
residues on algae-based leather
Dried and sewed in Singapore
Commissioned by the Rockbund Art Museum

衍生鲸泵（新加坡）
2026
200 x 160 cm
鱿，鱼，蟹和虾类动物废料凝练的油脂与油画颜料混合，
绘于海藻基皮革
晒制和缝纫于新加坡
由外滩美术馆委任创作 

The “whale pump” describes an ecological mechanism in which whales, through vertical migration and excretion, transport nutrient-rich matter from the deep ocean to surface waters, stimulating phytoplankton growth and enhancing marine primary productivity and carbon sequestration.

Payne’s Whale-Derived Pump series translates this ecological process into a financial derivative within carbon sink trading systems. The works are produced using oils refined from the waste of squid, fish, crabs, and shrimp—species targeted by human industrial fishing and simultaneously integral to the whale food chain. These oils are mixed with oil pigments and applied onto algae leather, forming a material proposition for a future ecology of finance.

In this exhibition, Whale-Derived Pump (Singapore, 2026) is installed by the windows on both sides of a conserved heritage building in Singapore. Monumental eyes of whales and squid mirror one another, emerging through the shared translucency of glass and algae leather. The windows, functioning as architectural orifices, connect interior and exterior spaces, linking the “fragments” of painting dispersed throughout the gallery. Together, they orient attention toward Singapore’s role as a “whale pump” within the global trading system.

鲸鱼泵（Whale Pump）：指鲸类在垂直迁徙与排泄过程中，将深海富含营养的物质输送至表层海域，促进浮游生物繁殖，从而增强海洋初级生产力与碳汇能力的生态机制。

佩恩恩的“衍生鲸泵”系列构想将这一生态机制模拟为碳汇交易的金融衍生品。作品以人类远洋捕捞同时也是鲸类食物链一环的鱿鱼、鱼类、蟹类与虾类的废料凝练为油脂，并与油画颜料混合，绘制于海藻皮革之上，勾勒出一幅未来生态金融的物质图景。

在本次展览中，《衍生鲸泵》（新加坡，2026）被安置于新加坡文物保护建筑两侧窗边。巨幅鲸鱼与鱿鱼的眼眸彼此映射，在玻璃与海藻皮革的透光性中浮现对方的掠影。窗户作为建筑的孔窍，打通内外，联通散落于展厅腔体中的“绘画碎片”，共同注视着在全球贸易体系中承担“鲸泵”功能的新加坡。

Whale-Derived Pump
2026
200 x 150 cm
Oil paint mixed with oils distilled from squid, fish, crab, and prawn
residues on algae-based leather
Dried and sewed in Shanghai

衍生鲸泵
2026
200 x 150 cm
鱿，鱼，蟹和虾类动物废料凝练的油脂与油画颜料混合，
绘于海藻基皮革
晒制和缝纫于上海

Orificology of ZhènZé
2026
200 x 150 cm
Oil paint mixed with oils distilled from squid, fish, crab, and prawn
residues on algae-based leather
Dried and sewed in Shanghai

震泽孔窍学
2026
200 x 150 cm
鱿，鱼，蟹和虾类动物废料凝练的油脂与油画颜料混合，
绘于海藻基皮革
晒制和缝纫于上海