Louise Marson

Sea Urchin series

Marson’s Sea Urchin series is an ongoing body of work that is typifies the acts of making, placing the materiality of nature at the centre of her work.

The process starts by meticulously selecting discarded objects, including sea urchins, oyster shells, and hessian oyster bags. Sourced from the Queen Victoria fish market bins, these salvaged objects were destined for landfill.

The oyster shells are burnt to form lime, then combined with sand to form the mortar in these artworks. It underscores the metamorphosis of materials from discards to integral components of creativity.  

In Spiked Armour, the hero of the artworks are the spikes of the urchin, once used to deter predators and now hand of the viewer.

Under the Armour focuses on deconstructed internals of the sea urchin to powerfully articulate the delicate balance of ecosystems. The artwork is biodegradable and formed from discarded oyster shells and oyster hessian bags. The spherical urchin skeletons are created from fused plates, which are symmetrical. On closer inspection you will see teeth with the urchins, which they use to scavenge ocean floors.

The skeleton if these molluscs once housed life's vibrant, soft tissues, considered a delicacy fit for consumption. The urchin is an interplay of strength and vulnerabilities. The work explores a transformation narrative within a fragile ecosystem and the relationship between structure, function, and materiality in the natural world.