EAST BOOTHBAY – A marine science lab in Maine is collaborating with an artist to help improve understanding of Antarctic marine viruses through art.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences says it’s pairing with Justin Levesque of Portland on the project. Levesque will be working with research scientists Joaquin Martinez Martinez and Silvia Cretoiu, who study marine viruses, on the project.

The lab says Levesque will spend time at the lab over the next six weeks learning about ocean science. He’ll be focusing on research that examines viruses in Antarctic lakes that formed thousands of years ago.

The lab says the project will end in an art exhibit for public display in the summer of 2019. Martinez Martinez calls the marine viruses “some of the weirdest, wildest organisms on the planet.”