and conch harvesting was banned throughout the continental United States in 1986. The United States now imports 90% of the seafood consumed in America and 50% of those imports are from aquaculture farms. Worldwide aquaculture harvests for 2013 exceeded 58 million metric tons with a total value well in excess of 100 billion dollars.
Most of the 1,000-plus metric tons of conch eaten by Americans every year is imported from countries like the Turks & Caicos, Belize, or the Bahamas. Although threatened by overfishing, these conch populations are in better shape because of the protection afforded by marine reserves and restrictions on the use of scuba
gear by fishermen.
In the Bahamas, the 176-square-mile Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was made a no-take fishery zone in 1986 by the Bahamas National Trust. Although some poaching does occur, scientists agree that the park is a major source for the replenishment of conch, lobster and grouper stocks outside its borders.
The conch shells I use in my work are both wild shells from Bahamas and cultured shells from aquaculture farms on Turks & Caicos. They are, however, always a by product of food industry. The necklace featured in this article consists of a conch triangle surrounded by pteria penguin shell and suspended on copper mesh.
Born in Croatia, Sylvia Gottwald studied fine art and design in Italy and Canada prior to earning her Masters of Architecture from Harvard University and completing her post-graduate in City Planning at MIT.
In 2000, following her long, successful career practicing architecture and urban planning locally and internationally, she turned her attention and efforts to the gems of the oceans.
Ms. Gottwald transforms the natural beauty and iridescence of nacre/mother-of-pearl and pearls into contemporary wearable art. Her avant-garde designs integrate nacre with precious metals, semi-precious gems, and edgy modern
materials such as rubber and steel.
Her interest in nacre is not only it’s inherent beauty, but also the importance of oysters to our marine ecosystems. The pearly oysters filter polluting nitrogen and plankton, protecting the oceans, and adding to the sustainability of life on our planet. In addition to their precious nacreous shell, they create a mysterious gem- the pearl- the only gem created by a living organism.
Ms. Gottwald’s growing list of published work includes the covers of European Vogue, Elle Decor, Ornament, Home & Design, exhibited at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Palais du Louvre (Paris); Musée de la Nacre (Paris/Meru); Museum of Modern Art (New York City); Museum of Contemporary Art Kampa (Prague); Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, DC); and the International Museum. Photo: SYLVIA GOTTWALD, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2012. Photograph by Domagoj Blazevic. of Applied Arts (Turin).
January 2017 - Art & Culture
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