I Sculpted Hundreds Of Porcelain Sea Creatures To Send A Message About Climate Change
My name is Courtney Mattison, I’m an artist and ocean advocate. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art is currently inhabited by hundreds of intricately hand-sculpted ceramic coral reef creatures comprising my solo show, Sea Change. Two large wall installations and 11 sculptural works explore the fragile beauty of ocean ecosystems and the human-caused threats they face—especially the impacts of our greenhouse gas emissions on coral reefs.
In my latest work, titled ‘Aqueduct,’ I playfully explore the ominous question of what will happen when climate change causes tropical sea creatures to migrate towards the poles and invade terrestrial spaces as seawater warms and sea levels rise. Hundreds of porcelain and stoneware corals, anemones, sponges and other marine invertebrates spill into the gallery from a hand-carved porcelain air duct register, begging the question: Will we act urgently to halt climate change and keep the ocean in its place, or will we allow the sea to consume us?
Sea Change runs through April 17, 2016. All images by Glen Mcclure for Virginia Moca.
More info: virginiamoca.org
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