Rediscover the beauty of our coastal waters with sculptor Justin Prough’s Shallows. Inspired by the spiraling shells, alien bones, and sea-weathered driftwood collected with his children along the world’s beaches, the artist creates a potential future that considers a shared ecology between man and mollusk.
“Humanity’s chemistry experiment is reshaping Earth’s air and water, more quickly than at any other time in our planet’s history,” states Prough, a long-time coastal resident and surfer. “Decades of fossil fuel burning, and other man-made air pollutants are carried by winds and mixed into coastal waters causing chemical reactions that threaten vast coastal ecosystems.”
In Shallows, Prough’s assemblage pieces use seashore debris to craft fantastic, fine art seascapes. Concerned with the ecology behind his creations, Prough cataloged the artifacts, noting the location and species of each find. Art and science became an instructional and informative tool for the artist as Prough made many of his discoveries with his son and daughter. Ocean acidification is a primary focus for the show, as many of the found shells used in each sculpture are endangered by continued sea temperature and chemistry changes.
“I dream of a time where we once again live in harmony with nature,” continues the artist. “My sculptures imagine future seascapes and whimsical, biomechanical structures as a way to connect us to our present world and encourage change for a better tomorrow.”
Shallows, a solo fine art exhibit from Prough, displays at TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, April 13-May 8. Register for the free virtual artist talk occurs Friday, April 30, 6 pm PT, with guest speaker Dr. Sarah Cooley, Director of Climate Science at Ocean Conservancy. Additional exhibitions from artists Sküt, with Deep and Wild, and Douglas Teiger, with Spectrum, also exhibit at TAG.
Prough is an award-winning, Los Angeles-area creative director and artist. Building upon the surfing and skateboarding culture of his youth, the artist is often found with his family along Surfrider Beach, County Line, and El Porto.
