In this painting of red abalone, traces of pottery shards hover in a blown out bowl formation over masses of shells. These shards are based on some of the actual excavated remnants of an early Chinese fishing community that was established at Point Alones in the 1850's. It was at this location (as well as Point Lobos) that the commercial fishing of abalone along our coast began. When other fisherman discovered their success they were pushed out of abalone. In 1905 their community met with arson and what remained was pushed off the cliff. My intent with this painting is to look beyond the beauty of the iridescence and weathered texture of these abalone that were once so plentiful in California, I wanted to hint at a buried history of racism, gluttony, avarice and greed. I want to think about this specific moment in time and relate it to our specific moment in time.