Size of object: 7x7c

Materials: recycled polyethylene, DMC thread & dry snail shell

Technique: Blanket Stitch

Photographed by Hannah Rothschild

Poem by Michal Krasni, joint project

 

These snails (Xerocrassa seetzeni) live on the bare terrain of the Arava Desert in Israel. Due to the harsh environment, they hide inside their shells for 345 days a year, only coming out for 20 days of active life. During those days they eat, find a partner, make love, reproduce (they are hermaphroditic, male and female), and finally retreat back into the safety of their shell for a long, isolated sleep. Their life cycle feels analogous to our lives in the current context of lockdowns and isolation. Like the snails who spend most of the year in their shells, we have been adapting to life behind masks and closed doors.

Sending hope and love to all the people in isolation.