The project takes a unique approach, inviting the public to participate in the art. (Twyla Exner)

An overlooked yet pivotal feature of the coastal landscape has inspired a new public art project, and the community is invited to take part.

Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging is a new participatory exhibit from Twyla Exner, inspired by the sharp seaside staple.

It’s part of The City of Nanaimo’s Temporary Public Arts Program, which has been supporting artists for years with the goal of revitalizing public spaces. Exner is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and an experienced artist whose work merges handcrafted and recycled industrial materials.

CHLY spoke with Exner on the inspiration behind the art.

“I've used barnacles within my art practice for almost 10 years in some form or another now,” said Exner. “I've always found ocean life really, really fascinating, and grew up kind of looking at books and thinking about these forms as almost like sci-fi, because they were so alien to what I was used to, and as I kind of worked with that in my practice, I use them as symbols of resilience and symbols of this idea of like home or structure.”

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, barnacles (Cirripedia) were at one time thought to be related to snails, but it was later discovered that they are related to crabs making them crustaceans. Additionally, as largely immobile aquatic animals permanently anchored to a solid surface, barnacles don't use their legs for walking, instead they use them for eating. Their modified legs, called cirri, sweep tiny food particles from the water into their mouth.

The project takes a unique approach, inviting the public to participate in the art. Exner wants Nanaimo to contribute to the exhibit by creating their own barnacles to be included in the finished piece.

Exner was inspired by Nanaimo’s iconic waterfront identity, and she said one of the most rewarding aspects of the project has been seeing the creativity of participants.

She explained the reasoning behind the community approach.

According to Exner, the project was designed to be accessible to everyone no matter their level of artistic experience. (Twyla Exner)

“Barnacles also grow in community, right? We see them kind of like clustered all over rocks, structures, basically anything that's near the ocean or on the ocean, and so for a community engaged project the form lends itself really well in, both physical and conceptual ways.”

People who want to take part are invited to the Nanaimo Art Gallery, at 150 Commercial Street to pick up the barnacle kit. Each kit consists of a plastic bag that includes a piece of plasticine, a couple of wooden tools for sculpting, as well as a zine that explains the project and instructions on how to make a barnacle. According to Exner, the project was designed to be accessible to everyone no matter their level of artistic experience.

Previously, Exner hosted a hands-on multi-day workshop from May 20 to 24, where participants could join her and sculpt their own barnacle moulds.

Exner described the workshop’s progress since her first session in May.

“I did workshops in person for a week. I think we made in that week about 150 barnacles, which was great. So lots of people came out, and people of all ages, from like toddlers to seniors,” said Exner.

Since then, there are now up to 400 barnacle moulds, which will later be solidified with concrete.

For the last few weeks participants have picked up their kits and returned with their barnacles for the art project. According to Exner, it has been a great success as the kits have run out and been replenished twice already. Exner said she encourages participants to photograph their creations before submitting them, allowing them to later find their barnacles when the installation is unveiled.

She explains what she hopes people will see when the project is finally revealed.

Exner has included barnacles in her work for years. (Twyla Exner)

“I hope that people will come back to find their barnacle, that they'll bring others to kind of show them,” said Exner. “I hope that they'll maybe think about barnacles in a different way, that they'll kind of consider their kind of relationship to this creature that’s really prevalent in the community in which they live, and that they'll just be really excited to see their contribution to something that's much larger.”

The final project will feature a dense cluster of large unique barnacles, installed at Maffeo Sutton Park. According to the City of Nanaimo’s official statement the project intends to explore the themes of belonging, attachment to place and the way individuals and community members leave a mark on their surroundings.

“Encrustation: Barnacles of Belonging” is nearing the end of its development. There are still a few Barnacle Kits available, but once they run out, that’s it. The piece will be unveiled in the fall.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.