산호초의 취약성을 보여주는 예술가의 환경적 대형 도자기 작품 Colossal Ceramic Installation Reflects the Fragility of the Coral Reef
Colossal Ceramic Installation Reflects the Fragility of the Coral Reef
By Kelly Richman-Abdou on October 22, 2018
With marine life as her muse, artist and advocate Courtney Mattison crafts ceramic sculptures that “promote awareness for the protection of our blue planet.” Mattison explores this environmental interest in Our Changing Seas, an ongoing series focused on the fragility of the coral reef. Reflecting the diversity of their subjects, these site-specific installations can be found in an array of locations around the world, including art museums, science centers, and even a diplomatic facility.
Photo: Amanda Brooks
산호초의 취약성을 보여주는 예술가의 환경적 대형 도자기 작품 '변화하는 바다 V' 환경적 경고 아티스트 코트니 매티슨은 산호초의 취약함에 촛점을 맞춰 진행중인 자신의 도자기 전시품 시리즈에서 우리의 변화하는 바다에서 이러한 환경적 관심을 탐구하고 있다. 그들의 주제의 다양성을 반영하며 이러한 현장의 고유의 모습들은 미술 박물관, 시엔 박물관을 포함한 전 세계의 여러 장소 곳 찾아볼 수 있다. 코트니 매티슨은 예술 프로그램의 일환으로 인도네시아 자카르타에 있는 미 대사관에서 요구한 '변화하는 바다 V'를 만들도록 위임 받았다. 8.4m 높이의 이 작품은 인도네시아, 말레이시아, 필리핀, 파푸아 뉴기니, 티모르 레스트, 솔로몬 제도의 바다를 가로지르는 태평양을 기반으로 한 산호 삼각지대에 경의로움을 표시한다. 거의 600여 종의 산호초가 이 400만 평방 마일 안에 존재한다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Cheol Hwang, conpaper editor, curator |
edited by kcontents
As a part of the Art in Embassies program, Mattison was commissioned to create Confluence (Our Changing Seas V) for the United States embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. The 28-foot piece pays homage to the Coral Triangle, a Pacific Ocean-based site that spans the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Solomon Islands. Almost 600 different species of reef-building corals exist in this 4 million-square-mile space alone, making it one of the most important under-the-sea stretches in the world.
Unfortunately, however, these coral reefs are increasingly threatened by overfishing, pollution, and a changing climate. In order to illustrate both the monumentality and the fragility of this ecosystem, Mattison has reproduced a reef as Confluence (Our Changing Seas V), a coil of colorful corals, billowing anemones, and delicate sea sponges.
While the porcelain and glazed earthenware invertebrates at the spiral’s center appear happy and healthy, disaster looms. “Toward the edges and tail of the swirling constellation,” Mattison explains on her website, “corals sicken and bleach, exposing their sterile white skeletons—a specter of what could be lost from climate change.” Coral bleaching—a phenomenon that starves and eventually kills coral—is a major threat to reefs around the world, making it a focal point for much of Mattison’s work.
By artistically presenting the consequences of climate change, the artist hopes to promote coral reef conservation—and remind people that it’s not too late to fix the problem. “It is possible for coral reefs to recover even from the point of bleaching if we unite and act quickly enough to decrease the threats we impose,” she says. “Perhaps if more people appreciate Indonesia’s spectacular reefs, we will act more wholeheartedly to preserve them for future generations.”
Through Confluence (Our Changing Seas V), a site-specific sculpture, Courtney Mattison artistically advocates for coral reef conservation.
Photo: Amanda Brooks
The large-scale piece features intricately detailed models of colorful reef-dwellers, including anemones and sponges.
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Mattison crafted the 28-foot work of art by hand before installing it in the US Embassy, Jakarta.
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Courtney Mattison
Photo: Amanda Brooks
Photo: Amanda Brooks
Photo: Amanda Brooks
Photo: Amanda Brooks
The ceramic coral reef was created for Art in Embassies, a program that places art in United States diplomatic facilities around the world.
Photo: Amanda Brooks
Courtney Mattison: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Behance | Vimeo
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Courtney Mattison.
