Our Changing Seas III is part of an ongoing series featuring large-scale coral reef sculptures by artist and ocean advocate Courtney Mattison, who finds herself turning to environmental science and marine biology to find inspiration for her artwork. The artist carefully shapes the coral from glazed stoneware and porcelain to mimic the beauty of nature, using chopsticks and paint brushes to sculpt each piece by hand.
This beautiful wall installation dominates the space in an explosion of a textured, healthy coral reef surrounded by the dying white skeletons of bleached corals. “I create work that celebrates the exotic forms of ocean flora and fauna in concert with their biological complexity, diversity, and vulnerability in the face of human-caused threats such as climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing and land-based pollution,” explains Mattison.” There is still time for corals to recover even from the point of bleaching if we act quickly to decrease the threats we impose.”
By bringing the delicate natural beauty to land and making it more accessible to everyone, Mattison hopes that she will raise an awareness about the endangered ecosystem and inspire more people to fight for conservation. This piece is currently on display from now until June 15, 2014 at the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York.
