Heart
Hearts
6"x 5"
MIxed Media: abalone, conch shells, hermit crab, fiddler crab, oyster shells, sea worm tubes, bark
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I had been meditating upon the wondrous designs of the natural world, and its inherent provisions of transplantation. It is a gifting of seeds to the soil or sperm to a womb. Beautiful and terrible, it is a most vital instrument of the ecosystem. We ingest the lives of others to preserve our own existence and we give of ourselves and take from each other - sharing sustenance and heavy loads. And so, we become a part of each other - sustaining our communities, until the cycle of life offers one last gift and we are transplanted back into the body of the ecosystem.
But then, some time ago I came across the remains of hermit crabs being sold at a garage sale.
They had also been transplanted - torn from their natural habitat - excised, from the oft mutilated body of our natural world - only to be grotesquely reattached to a dirty tablecloth, as old and unwanted trinkets.
It was profoundly sad…
They had been deprived of their purpose and their place - rendered insignificant. Their deaths were empty. And meaningless. And probably cruel.
Their survival had once depended upon perpetual transplantation. They lived by readapting their bodies into the remaining shells of other creatures, that had been passed on to them by the provisions of their habitat. And ever mindful of their communities, when they grew beyond the limits of their itinerant exoskeleton, they would meet to share their refuge with other crabs in need. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
So, as they lay before me, I began to make some art, for the sake of all our healing. And possibly contrition.
And give them one last shelter in the form of human hearts.
And perhaps, through this final gift of transplant, their remains might fill an emptiness in the heart of all humanity.
Vessels of very large white sea worm tubes, backs of pure black abalone shell, and the hollow forms of conch form their structures, along with the eroded remains of oyster shells, and tree bark.
The legs of large bright orange hermit crabs, can be spied protruding from an open crevice.
Inside, the legs curl inwards, and within the center of the heart, they clasp small hinged quails eggs, adorned with wasp paper, barnacles and tiny twisting branches.
These tiny eggs are hinged and can unfold into four segments that appear as the exquisite interiors of pomegranate, with luscious deep red seeds that are formed from glass.
Further inside the abalone shell, a tiny fiddler crab takes refuge, protectively clutching a tiny vial of mercury…
Photo Credits: Marina Dempster