The pearl metastasizes as a means of protection. Irritants carried by saltwater are now carried by gloved hand, laid on tongue and made to glitter, we choose these spaces where beauty occupies. We find new ways to crystallize what is harmful and beloved. The evidence of our lives outlasts us, the presence of our childhoods exist in plastic which withers endlessly yet refuses to disappear. we grow so quickly and hold old gifts in new hands on the turning of the months. The pearl forms on microscopic levels and becomes visible to us as a gift of the light where no harm enters.
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How do we redefine what we value and protect in a world where “worthless” objects refuse to disappear?
Our generation’s material ideology has been shaped by plastic. Letting go of plastic means turning it over to entropy.
Thinking about materials we preserve, especially as heirlooms, the pearl came up over and over. It is at once a token of generatioal love and a symbol of craft tradition, but also a visceral reminder that extraction (of earth, labor, and currency) is the core of the “precious materials” industry.
Thinking about materials we preserve, especially as heirlooms, the pearl came up over and over. It is at once a token of generatioal love and a symbol of craft tradition, but also a visceral reminder that extraction (of earth, labor, and currency) is the core of the “precious materials” industry.
What does a modern heirloom look like?
Mother Nacre’s approach to bacterial nacre looks at the oyster as a role model for handling our most valued plastic, and uses bacteria to develop both a multi-layer coating and a bulk material that have properties of mollusk nacre.
This process happens outside of an ocean; in collaboration with, not inside, an organism; and outside of industrial environments.