As a Dane living in the Alpes-Maritimes in southern France,I have had the opportunity to experiment with Mediterranean fibers,from epiphytic lichen that can be found in the mountains,to Neptune balls which are common on Mediterranean shores.Wandering on the beach,I became fascinated by the massive quantity of small,brown,finely constructed fiber balls,ranging from 2 to 10 centimeters in diameter,which spread out all across the sand.I began to pick some up and bring them home to the studio to research and examine them for artistic purposes.Neptune balls,often called sea balls,originate from the plant Posido-nia oceanica,commonly called Neptune grass,Mediterranean tapeweed,or”the lung of the Mediterranean.”Though it can be confused with seaweed,it is in fact a species of sea grass,with both fruits and flowers(which seaweed does not have).Posidonia oceanica grows at depths of 1 to 45 meters,and the leaves,which are approximately 1 centimeter wide and 1.5 meter in length,look like long,green bands.In autumn,winter,and spring,the withered or older Neptune grasses are crushed together and washed up by the waves,arriving ashore either as torn bands or as small balls of densely knotted fibers.The fruit also floats onto the beaches separately.
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