Xenophora
Casket reliquary20249" x 11" x 12"Mixed media (Click for details)
The practice of creating decorated caskets to store and protect a precious or sacred object is an ancient practice, and common to many cultures throughout the world. They take an infinite variety of forms...cylinders, boxes, pyxis, polygons. At the height of the baroque period in Spain, they were always elaborately ornamented. 'Xenophora' (from the Greek "bearing foreigners") was inspired by a remarkable-18th century reliquary seen in a basilica in Granada. Inside lies a wondrous "carrier shell" mollusk specimen.
Carrier shell mollusks display a unique adaptation - as they grow, they collect and cement other shells, sponges, and stones to their exteriors, resulting over time in an extravagantly decorated 'hat'. Scientists have theorized that this may simply be an act of visual camouflage or perhaps a technique to disguise a scent trail. But who's to say if this isn't perhaps an aesthetic act of beauty of a conscious organism?
More photos coming soon!
Casket reliquary20249" x 11" x 12"Mixed media (Click for details)
The practice of creating decorated caskets to store and protect a precious or sacred object is an ancient practice, and common to many cultures throughout the world. They take an infinite variety of forms...cylinders, boxes, pyxis, polygons. At the height of the baroque period in Spain, they were always elaborately ornamented. 'Xenophora' (from the Greek "bearing foreigners") was inspired by a remarkable-18th century reliquary seen in a basilica in Granada. Inside lies a wondrous "carrier shell" mollusk specimen.
Carrier shell mollusks display a unique adaptation - as they grow, they collect and cement other shells, sponges, and stones to their exteriors, resulting over time in an extravagantly decorated 'hat'. Scientists have theorized that this may simply be an act of visual camouflage or perhaps a technique to disguise a scent trail. But who's to say if this isn't perhaps an aesthetic act of beauty of a conscious organism?
More photos coming soon!