the stone in your mouth/the flesh in my teeth
2025
Handbuilt porcelain, crocheted chain, acrylic tubing, velvet, abalone shell, crystallized sea salt, dried anchovies, found mussel shells, barnacles, red algae, invertebrate fossils. Dimensions variable
The intertidal zone is a landscape marked by constant and extreme change, whose inhabitants have uniquely adapted to not only withstand, but thrive in such conditions. Considering histories of oceanic extraction and our relationship to living resources, I consider the ocean’s intertidal organisms as oracles. What wisdom, memory, and technology is held within the animal body? the stone in your mouth/the flesh in my teeth is a sculptural installation that visualizes the Pacific intertidal zone and its organisms in past, present, and future evolutions to guide our understanding of what longevity, survival, and endurance can look like. In a climate that is rapidly changing and increasingly violent, how can humans learn from these animals as teachers to adapt and survive?
In the installation, I created sculptural shells in speculative stages of evolution that are inspired by the alchemical processes of soft bodied mollusks and how they have evolved to protect themselves. My work references oyster, abalone, and mussel forms to explore ideas of protection, rigidity, aggression, and desire. The forms on display are vessels that both invite and repel, their tactile surfaces invite curious hands but also serve as a warning to not get too close. The work attempts to reposition the power dynamic of humans and consider our consumptive nature with our environments. Underlying the beauty and glamor lies a growing threat. In this ecosystem, what happens when the consumers become the consumed?
