LIMULUS

When I first began to wander the beaches of New England, I became fascinated with a strange prehistoric creature that proliferates on the coast there, known as the Horseshoe Crab (Limulus Polyphemus). I would watch them swimming in the off-shore shallows and bays and collect the perfectly intact cast off body shells which they evacuate in molting, and are washed up on the shore. They soon became a presence in my studio. It is also called a living fossil as it is the oldest living animal known to us, not having changed its form in over 200 million years. It can only be found on the east coast of North America and the south east coast of Asia. This ancient creature is mistakenly called a crab and is in effect an ancestor of the spider family. Seen from underneath without its shell it looks very much like a scorpion.

Their peculiar form captivated and engaged me — the simple, elemental helmet shape of the exterior enclosing the baroque of inside. I recall seeing a marvelous exhibition of Japanese warrior helmets at the Japan Society in New York which again made me think of the contained forms of the Horseshoe crab. Containment and enclosure. One invoking the other.

Well, 200 million years is a long time to go without changing form. I thought it was about time somebody did something about it.

Brian Nissen