On February 4, 2019, a fin whale measuring 18 meters and weighing 20 tons ran aground on the beach of Sopelana (Vizcaya).
Elena Vecino, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of the Basque Country and director of the Experimental Ophthalmic Biology Research Group, who has been working in the field of the visual system for more than 30 years, collected the eye. Since the animal had died just hours earlier, details of its anatomy and structure could be studied with an electron microscope, and the neurons and accompanying cells, known as Müller glia, could be cultured.
The photographs in this exhibition are part of those studies. The research was carried out with the collaboration of Drs. Noelia Ruzafa, Xandra Pereiro, and Ane Zulueta, with the technical assistance of Dr. Alejandro Díez from the Electron Microscopy Service of the UPV/EHU. The results of the research have subsequently been confirmed by studying the eyes of two other fin whales, of very similar dimensions, stranded on beaches in Asturias (2021) and Valencia (2022).
The results have been published in international research journals of high scientific impact. The electron microscopy photographs are obtained in black and white and, to highlight the details, have been digitally colored by Luis López, who also selected and textured them to make them accessible to the blind. The photographs shown in the exhibition have received several national and international awards. The sound in the exhibition has been adapted and mixed by Dr. Mikel Arce, a professor at the UPV/EHU.
The exhibition has been adapted so that it can be enjoyed by people with various disabilities, both sensory and cognitive. We have consulted with the company Puntodis and Carmen Lafuente, Head of Accessibility at the CSIC.
Three large panels recount the previous text and are accompanied by photographs of the protagonists.