The Endangered Species Project
Galloway works from each state’s official list of species identified as endangered, threatened or extinct. She has created a series of covered jars, one urn for each species, illustrating the smallest Agassiz Clam Shrimp to the largest Eastern Elk
Galloway writes, “Recently I happened to read about the Wandering Albatross on a layover in an airport. The Wandering Albatross is one of the largest birds in the world, sporting a wing span up to eleven feet across and able to stay aloft for up to 30 days drafting on the oceans currents. This bird flies unusually close to the water, so on average, every five minutes, one of these birds is decapitated by industrial fishing lines, and literally, it brought me to my knees with sorrow – what could I do?
“Making pottery is how I understand the world. I am creating covered jars for endangered species. Change can occur when something that is generally unseen becomes seen. I have made all 305 species listed in New England in hope that this sheer volume of pottery in one gallery will have an impact on the public. On the surface of the jars are lush images of the animals isolated in a colorless habitat. My sister, an evolutionary biologist, insists that I include hope for the future in this project. Part of the exhibition includes the reasons for the dropping population and what we, average folks, can do to reverse or at least slow down this trend.”
Follow Julia Galloway’s project on Instagram at @endangered.species.project
Artist Bio:
Julia Galloway (http://juliagalloway.com) is a utilitarian potter and professor. She teaches ceramics at the University of Montana, Missoula. Julia has exhibited across the United States, Canada, and Asia and her work is included in the collections of the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, Long Beach Art Museum, Long Beach CA, the Ceramics Research Center at the Arizona State Art Museum, Alfred Ceramics Art Museum at Alfred University, the Dinnerware Museum in Ann Arbor Michigan and The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Related event:
Julia Galloway Visiting Artist Workshop
April 13 and 14, 2019 at Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard.
Image Credit: Julia Galloway, Urn for Frog, 2018. Image courtesy of the artist.