
shellacked paper and collage
14”h, 13”3
From the end of the 16th century, nautilus shells from the Indo-Pacific Ocean were imported into Europe on a regular basis, where they were admired for their exotic origins and geometric perfection. They were seen as proof of the convergence of the bodily and spiritual worlds (invertebrate zoology and mathematics).
The object I made is riffing on these bibelots by incorporating man-made machinery as a support for the natural artifact.