When I first moved to Aotearoa New Zealand, I had a flurry of international visitors. There was a need for a non-digital or wifi dependent mud map of the area. I began to play with an idea of a map drawn onto an object from the area. Living on the bay, my first thought was of shells from the local beach. I loved the idea that visitors could pop a shell in their pocket to find their way around the area.
The first iteration of the idea was simply to draw a map of the surface of the shell. I had been inspired by the traditions of scrimshaw, but as I lacked the skills I used a sharpie. The map was of my local area of Auckland: at the base of the shell was a hint of Rangitoto and Motutapu Island. At the top of the shell is Hobson to St Heliers Bay. To the right is Davenport and to the far left was Half Moon Bay.
I began to play with ideas of recreating the shell and map. My first trial was a silhouette, but it lacked depth so I moved to wire metal. I began to build up the shell form with maps that I had drawn. It was slow making. I took my time with each wire, first in shaping, then in welding. With each layer of detail, the shell form became more obvious.
Once I created this first shell form I began to expand the idea of where and what I could explore next. I returned to my collection of shells. I took out iconic specimens that also had special memories attached to them. A scallop shell from Omaha that reminded me of very early explorations with hot coffees and walking on the cool beach looking out to a new horizon. Other shells from Ohio Bay that remind me of walks along wild grey rainy beaches (this term is used very loosely as there were all rocks and no sand) with my family yelling exclaims at finding yet another immaculate vibrant Paua shell.
The full collection of mapped shells was on display at Fingers, Auckland. Each shell was created from layered wire maps built up to create the form. Each wire thickness represents a different part of the map. The thickest wire is the coastline where the shell was found. The middle thickness is the contour lines of the mountain and hills. The thinnest (and the straightest) are the major roads of the area, the lines of ferries, or as well as the flow of the ocean. It was interesting to think about what details to keep in and what details were not as important.
In the beginning these shells were made to help me explore and connect to a new country. In a way they were evidence of my explorations, as well as building a life and memories on the shores of New Zealand. I look forward to where this type of making will take me. This collection feels like the beginning of a new journey.
The full Finger’s group show catalogue can be seen in the link below. I am in some incredibly wonderful company in this exhibition, I highly recommend checking it out. https://www.fingers.co.nz/exhibitors/group23.htm