Seashells Build Bone Exhibition

An exhibition of etchings, screenprints and digital works by Rachel Duckhouse, who recently worked with biominerals expert Professor Maggie Cusack, a specialist in biominerals such as shells, corals and bones.

Their research began with the story of an ancient Mayan skull, which contained false teeth carved from an oyster shell. The shell teeth had been accepted by the jawbone, which had grown new bone, generated in response to the shell.

The Leverhulme Trust funded artist residency enabled artist and scientist to explore the structural patterns within oyster shells using electron microscopy. Their collaboration focussed on the mysterious patterns that induce human stem cells to produce bone.