Artist Statement: In the back of every blue scallop eye is a mirror made of millions of stacked guanine crystal tiles. Guanine crystals are found in many living creatures (it’s the same substance that gives shine to fish scales), and this mirror reflects images onto the eye’s two retinas to allow scallops to interpret and react to the underwater world around them.

Crystals of Guanine is an art installation that tells the story of those eyes. The reclaimed brick, handmade terracotta and concrete structure sits at the foot of the Cove Walk entrance on Cove Road in the South End of New Bedford. 

Artist and New Bedford native Michael Medeiros created Crystals of Guanine as a celebration of the history and experiences of the city which shaped his perception of the world. Whaling made the city’s reputation, but it’s scallops that makes it the most lucrative fishing port in the country today. That’s why he wanted to draw some attention to the shellfish itself. Most people know about the edible muscle, but fewer know that each scallop has dozens of tiny, incredibly complex blue eyes and its ability to jet propel itself across the ocean floor by “flapping” its shells using that tasty muscle. 

Michael worked on the bay scallop seeding barges off Sconticut Neck, which is where he learned about those eyes. And he spent a lot of time exploring the city’s brick and concrete mills, which led to his choice of materials for the structure of the project. 

“My mother was employed in the New Bedford textile industry, and my grandfather was a bricklayer and decades-long employee of Revere Copper and Brass,” says Medeiros. “Both of them worked in large brick factories typical of the sort that once dominated much of the land-based industrial landscape of New Bedford. I grew up seeing the inner workings of those spaces. It’s shaped my aesthetic, and I’m drawing upon that architectural, industrial, and human heritage to create the brick and tile portion of this project. I actually was able to build this installation using some of the bricks from my mother’s factory, Dartmouth Finishing, which was demolished a few years back.”