Spondylus dominicensis Possibly 1962

Charles Arthur Wells Jr. made this image of Spondylus dominicensis, I think, using a printmaking technique – look at the way the green ink is grainy and textured. It makes me think about the labour of mark-making. I’m wondering about the choice of the color – this muted green that makes the shell look somehow old, antique, from a different era, a little spooky. Maybe it's about a sense of history and how these shells have been around for ages, outliving us all, right? I see this object that has this incredible shape, this organic matter, but rendered in a way that has a beautiful, slightly haunting quality. I think that artists are always responding to each other’s work across time and space. We’re always in conversation. I think Wells is looking back to botanical drawings but bringing his own twist. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.