Pithváva

 

A wall based installation created from tens of thousands dentalium shells sustainably harvested along the Pacific coast of Northwest America.

 

Dentalium shells have been used by First Nations and Native Americans as a highly valued trade item for thousands of years. Oral history of the Yurok, an indigenous Californian tribe, refers to Pithváva, a deity who created dentalium shells and dictated their significance as sacred wealth.

 

Pithváva explores the notion of sacred wealth as an art form thorough a contemporary artisanal method of creation.