Palpable, polymorphous and terrifying stitchery*

Since 2005, sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim have been crocheting simulations of both healthy and ailing coral reefs to call attention to the devastation of the Great Barrier Reef, climate change and ocean pollution. Their efforts have ballooned into a global collaborative project that has resulted in a stunning traveling exhibit that opened last night on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Although I've been involved in making a couple pieces for the upcoming local collaboration that debuts in May, nothing prepared me for the scale and beauty of the work shown here. Some of the installations are easily ten feet high and as wide. There are pieces in breathtaking color, and sobering offerings crocheted entirely of white plastic trash. If Crochet Coral Reef comes anywhere near where you live, don't miss it.


* Donna Haraway, Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department and Feminist Studies Department, UCSC