Conus Litteratus

I have been thinking about this photo for a few months, and have now decided that I am going to print up an edition. I am fond of this entire Conus genus, or is it family, of shells, found in various forms all over the Indo-Pacific region.

This is a Conus marmoreus that I photographed about 10 years ago. It became one of the most popular photos that I ever made. The idea for it came from a 1650 Rembrandt etching that I saw in Germany. I bought the shell in Germany as well. An interesting point about the Rembrandt etching is that the shell is in reverse, the opening of the shell always goes the other way. He must have etched it the correct way around, and then in the etching process it became reversed.

In 2001, as I collected more of these shells,
I made a new version, this one with two shells.

In turn, this reminded me of a still life that I made in 1982.
I still have the waste paper basket.