SHOALS, Two public sculptures on display this fall
/Billion Oyster Project is pleased to present oyster-inspired art — curated by Bianca Abdi-Boragi, Katherine Adams, and Anna Mikaela Ekstrand — as part of The Immigrant Artist Biennial 2023: Contact Zone
SHOALS BY LINNÉA GAD
September 8th - November 19th, 2023
Nolan Park, Governors Island
Special Event: Sunday, October 1st, 1pm - 3pm
Building #16, Nolan Park
For the past three years, Swedish artist Linnéa Gad has been engaged in interdisciplinary research around the lifecycle of lime. Fascinated by the material’s transformative journey from protective shells of marine organisms to the creation of limestone, she has explored both recent oyster rehabilitation in the Hudson estuary and million-year-old formations of fossiliferous limestone in Scandinavia. Marking Gad’s first public artwork, the two large-scale sculptures Shoals I-II will be installed in Nolan Park on Governors Island, and presented in partnership with Billion Oyster Project. Just steps away from New York Harbor, where oysters are currently being restored, this installation invites visitors to experience wild structures that could provide a good habitat for young oysters (or spat).
As a creative response to how mollusks form their shells through the process of marine biogenic calcification, Shoal I presents a leviathan-like metal framework adorned with welding splatter, akin to barnacles that calcify on the belly of a ship. Its structure is cocooned in lime mortar mixed with crushed oyster shells and painted as a bueno fresco with lapis lazuli, the ultramarine pigment formed through the contact metamorphism of dolomitic limestone. Shoal II stands as a spindly structure, its lime mortar surface adorned with a mosaic of oyster eyes. Rooted in the ideas of new materialism, these sculptures exemplify growth and accumulation—mirroring various facets of lime’s malleable nature, its inherent ability to merge with different versions of itself—capturing the dynamic essence of lime in its myriad forms.
Shoals present a tactile response to the climate crisis. Lime is often viewed simply as a means to an end: cement production, however, lime is not only an essential material in contemporary infrastructure. It also stabilizes pH levels in the ocean and locks CO2 into the ocean floor. In 2024, as part of an ongoing partnership with Billion Oyster Project, Gad will create sculptures that extend from the organization’s underwater metal gabions, which are used to rehabilitate oyster growth.
“I actively strive to integrate art into Billion Oyster Project initiatives,” said Agata Poniatowski, who leads Billion Oyster Project’s Public Outreach Manager and the organization’s partnership with The Immigrant Artist Biennial. “Recognizing the significance of STEAM education – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math – this collaboration represents a powerful stride towards nurturing more art in the learning experiences for our youth."
This October, Gad will host a multimedia performative lecture, Oysters as Eyes, at Billion Oyster Project’s exhibit house #16 on Governors Island. As part of TIAB’s Field Work programming, the performance further visualizes Gad’s exploration of lime across various dimensions—geology, anthropology, ecology, art history, and personal narratives—and is accompanied by sound composed and performed by Will Epstein.
Shoals, Two Public Sculptures on Governors Island is part of The Immigrant Artist Biennial 2023: Contact Zone held across venues in New York and New Jersey from September 2023 to January 2024. Find the full program here.
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About the Artist
Linnéa Gad, born in 1990, is a visual artist from Stockholm, Sweden. Her sculptures, prints, paintings and installations are a response to our climate catastrophe, engaging with time-based ecological processes that govern our ecosystems. She currently 'collaborates' with limestone, oysters, cardboard, bark, and other shell materials, initiating unexpected dialogues that evoke empathy for the vibrant 'lives' of these materials. Reflecting the ethos of island culture instilled by her upbringing in the Stockholm archipelago, her artistic process embraces a deliberate sense of care and frugality. Techniques like mending and recycling are inherent to her ethos, and this resourceful approach permeates her reflections on the afterlife of her works—how they might transform, evolve, return to the life cycles of their materials, and ultimately dissolve.
Gad’s solo shows include Erratics at Spencer Brownstone in New York (2019), Luster Pit at RØM in Copenhagen (2018), and Mound Remover at New Release Gallery in New York (2018). The artist has recently participated in group shows at The Jewish Museum in New York (2022), The Lenfest Center for the Arts in New York (2021) and SixtyEight Art Institute in Copenhagen (2021). She is the recipient of grants from The Swedish Arts Grants Committee and was shortlisted for the Frankenthaler Climate Art Awards in 2022. Gad was a part-time lecturer at Parsons The New School for Design in 2022 and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of The Arts. The artist’s first publication "Kalk" is to be released by Danish RSS Press.
About Billion Oyster Project
Billion Oyster Project is a nonprofit organization on a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives. Why oysters? Their reefs provide habitat for many marine species, have the ability to filter water, and help shield New York City shorelines from storm damage. Founded on the belief that restoration without education is temporary, and observing that learning outcomes improve when students have the opportunity to work on real restoration projects, Billion Oyster Project collaborates with public schools. The crew designs STEM curriculum for NYC schools through the lens of oyster restoration, and engages Urban Assembly New York Harbor School students in large-scale restoration projects. The organization has collected nearly two million pounds of discarded oyster shells from 75+ NYC restaurants and has engaged 11,000 volunteers in preparing those shells to be seeded with oyster larvae. The project has introduced 100 million oysters across 18 restoration sites and 16 acres of New York Harbor with the help of more than 8,000 students.
About the Organizer
The Immigrant Artist Biennial presents immigrant artists through various formats, facilitating a platform of support for projects by often overlooked and silenced voices. Founded in 2020 by its artistic director Ukrainian-born, NYC-based artist Katya Grokhovsky TIAB is fiscally sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts and funded through its host partners, grants, sponsorships, donations, and its Patron Circle.