Copepodilia

pigment prints on Arches aquarelle
64 prints, edition of 3 in 4 sizes: 11" x 8.5", 22" x 17", 30" x 20", 50" x 40"
2017

Copepodilia is an imaginary managerie, based loosely on the anatomy of copepods, small aquatic crustaceans that inhabit nearly every body of water on Earth. They were made using the Victorian art of seaweed pressing, with all of the seaweed coming from one small remote beach in northern California.

The drawings were made as the seaweed was assembled prior to pressing. Once dry, they were photographed to preserve their color. Depending on the species of seaweed, the resulting prints maintain a very lifelike three dimensionality, or appear to be watercolor paintings, with these effects often appearing together in the same image.