over the generations
we grow
we change
we metamorphose;
encrusting microbes
becoming more complex
as our hosts grow
towards the light;
from the abyssal depths
we adapt from dark and cold
to light and warmth;
the warm tropical seas embrace
our beautiful new efflorescence

Encrustations is an exploration of the evolution of the tiny organisms which grow and encrust the surface of deeper-water coral reefs. Over the ages, as the coral grows towards the surface light and warmth these encrusting organisms adapt and metamorphose to live in this new, bright, high-energy and high-nutrition environment. They form highly complex and beautiful organisms, often extensively foliated – growing still attached to the reef substrate. Not parasites, these organisms live symbiotically with the coral, each helping the other grow and prosper.