SNAIL DANCE
This intricate piece is a representation of the beautiful transition into the unknown. Though gathered over the course of ten years, these opercula were the only shells of a vast collection that journeyed with me across the Pacific, marking the transition of my life in Hawaii to California. They sat in a jug in which I would swish my hand from time to time and be transported back to the warm sandy beach. In early 2020, I was laid off due to the pandemic while also eight months pregnant. The jug of opercula, yet again, symbolic of a monumental transition—this time from career-focused 30-something to first-time mother. The opercula’s loose nature of being an obvious choking-hazard initiated their reincarnation into what slowly evolved into this dizzy little dance on black canvas.
From start to finish, this piece was truly meditative from the process of hand-gathering opercula from Oahu’s North Shore to meticulously and intentionally placing each piece on the canvas. Opercula come from pūpū mahina or “moon snails", and act as the door to the snail’s shell home. They were sustainably gathered and never taken from live specimen.
SNAIL DANCE is a celebration of where we have been and where we have yet to go; an appreciation for the beauty of the past and anticipation of the unknown.
2020
Hand-gathered opercula on canvas
36 x 47.5 in (91.5 x 121 cm)
This intricate piece is a representation of the beautiful transition into the unknown. Though gathered over the course of ten years, these opercula were the only shells of a vast collection that journeyed with me across the Pacific, marking the transition of my life in Hawaii to California. They sat in a jug in which I would swish my hand from time to time and be transported back to the warm sandy beach. In early 2020, I was laid off due to the pandemic while also eight months pregnant. The jug of opercula, yet again, symbolic of a monumental transition—this time from career-focused 30-something to first-time mother. The opercula’s loose nature of being an obvious choking-hazard initiated their reincarnation into what slowly evolved into this dizzy little dance on black canvas.
From start to finish, this piece was truly meditative from the process of hand-gathering opercula from Oahu’s North Shore to meticulously and intentionally placing each piece on the canvas. Opercula come from pūpū mahina or “moon snails", and act as the door to the snail’s shell home. They were sustainably gathered and never taken from live specimen.
SNAIL DANCE is a celebration of where we have been and where we have yet to go; an appreciation for the beauty of the past and anticipation of the unknown.
2020
Hand-gathered opercula on canvas
36 x 47.5 in (91.5 x 121 cm)
This intricate piece is a representation of the beautiful transition into the unknown. Though gathered over the course of ten years, these opercula were the only shells of a vast collection that journeyed with me across the Pacific, marking the transition of my life in Hawaii to California. They sat in a jug in which I would swish my hand from time to time and be transported back to the warm sandy beach. In early 2020, I was laid off due to the pandemic while also eight months pregnant. The jug of opercula, yet again, symbolic of a monumental transition—this time from career-focused 30-something to first-time mother. The opercula’s loose nature of being an obvious choking-hazard initiated their reincarnation into what slowly evolved into this dizzy little dance on black canvas.
From start to finish, this piece was truly meditative from the process of hand-gathering opercula from Oahu’s North Shore to meticulously and intentionally placing each piece on the canvas. Opercula come from pūpū mahina or “moon snails", and act as the door to the snail’s shell home. They were sustainably gathered and never taken from live specimen.
SNAIL DANCE is a celebration of where we have been and where we have yet to go; an appreciation for the beauty of the past and anticipation of the unknown.
2020
Hand-gathered opercula on canvas
36 x 47.5 in (91.5 x 121 cm)