2024

GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL EXHIBITION

JOHANNE LAMARCHE

JOHANNE LAMARCHE

(Berwyn, Pennsylvania)

No Shell Left Behind

oil, cold wax, watercolor, collaged paper, oyster dust, sand, silver leaf, Inktense, marker on board, 12.5 x 12.5 inches

Price: $600 + $45 shipping fee

Artist Statement:

In many cities around the country, a unique kind of trash is smelling up collection bins.  Brimming with hard, brown shells with pearlescent concavities once home to slimy mollusks, thousands of these shells are discarded by seafood enthusiasts every day. Non-profit shell recyclers such as Billion Oyster Project and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana are collecting discarded oyster shells by the million.  These shells serve as the foundation for rebuilding oyster reefs providing crucial habitat to marine life, mitigating flooding and safeguarding shorelines from storm damage. Shell recyclers recognize the urgency of their efforts.  Overharvesting, disease and pollution have decimated oyster reefs and eroded coastlines.

In my mixed media painting No Shell Left Behind, I aim to raise awareness about these vital shell recycling initiatives.  The work combines oil and cold wax techniques on board, showcasing a central collaged watercolor oyster with enhanced edges to draw the viewer’s eye.  To create this piece, I processed my own recycled oyster shells, baking them to make them friable, crushing them and then filtering them until I had collected a  fine oyster dust that I could incorporate in the work. Layers of  Chesapeake Bay sand, silver leaf and netting evoke the ocean’s rugged beauty.  Inktense crayons and markers provided some fine line details.  The radiating red and black lines incised in the painting create tension and symbolize dying reefs and warming waters threatening our oceans. Through No Shell Left Behind, I hope to educate oyster enthusiasts about the win-win benefits of recycling shucked oyster shells and their potential for renewal.  It is a conversation starter, urging us to be stewards of our environment.   Indeed, every shell counts.

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