CARRIER SHELL 

To conclude the KEEPSAKES programming, Carrier Bag Collective showcased work in our second group exhibition, featuring the artwork of collective members Levi DeCoste, Abby Kettner,  and Hailey Ferguson.

Excerpt from curatorial text:

“Xenophoridae, or carrier shells, are a species of large sea snails that have the unique ability to gather and affix objects to their shells. Cementing stones, sponges, and other shells and debris to itself as it slowly shifts along the sea bed, carrier shells are the collectors of the deep. Mollusk shells grow in a spiral, so the shell of a mature Xenophora serves as a timeline of its life. With the smallest souvenirs in the middle of its spire and the larger ones on its outer whorls, the carrier shell’s material companions are evidence of a life lived. Above sea level, people have a similar affinity for collecting. Though we may not glue our objects to our backs, some of us might as well. To Carrier Bag Collective members Levi DeCoste, Hailey Ferguson, and Abby Kettner, collection is a means of structuring memory, of discerning meaning, of making sense of things. The works across Carrier Shell investigate the desire to collect, and how the objects we collect speak back to us. “