‘Medical Advice’

Medical Advice 2021

Giclée print. Edition of 3

You’ll often see snails in floral paintings from the 17th century Dutch golden age. Symbols of death and decay, they were a reminder to viewers to live a good life, and remember that they too would die.

But, I have been unable to find a single snail in my garden! I put out several call outs for garden snails to no avail. I even ordered a Fraser Rainforest snail online and paid $20 for said snail, $15 postage and $10 for a second hand terrarium, only to find out they are only active at night.

Finally, a member of my food swap came to the party, and I drove an hour round trip to pick up an ice cream tub full of snails in order to be able to create this image.

I never create composites (compiling several photos using photoshop). Everything is captured in one shot in my studio, followed by hours of editing. It can take hours to get the right shot. Especially using live animals. Thus the motion blur on the left eye if you zoom in, proof of the inherent limitations of the camera.

But finally, a snail!