South Florida born and raised artist and master ceramicist Lauren Shapiro finds inspiration within the biodiversity of coastal and marine environments. She explores these fragile systems through sculptures that exist primarily in the public realm. Her work draws connections between science and craft, often collaborating with ecologists and architects to research, develop and build her work. Shapiro’s projects incorporate hand-formed clay tiles and digitally fabricated molds as friezes and systems of classical architecture to reimagine contemporary buildings overtaken by flora and marine life.
For Future Pacific and Garden Portals, the artist invited the public to participate during open community sessions by affixing clay replicas of plants and corals onto large-scale armatures that poetically exist between construction and demolition. During these activations, participants became confronted with understanding their role in the deterioration of these environments. With her work overall, Shapiro aims to cult
