Print Details
Regular Edition
18 x 24 Inches
Fine-art Giclée print on Canson Aquarelle 310gsm museum-grade archival paper
Limited Edition of 100
Signed + Numbered
Printed with ♥ by Static Medium
Hand-Embellished Edition
24 x 32 inches
Fine-art Giclée print on Canson Aquarelle 310gsm museum-grade archival paper
Limited Edition of 35
Signed + Numbered
Hand-embellished
Printed with ♥ by Static Medium
Artist Statement
Over 3,000 species of nudibranchs are found across the world’s oceans, appearing with special abundance in the shallow, tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. These cheerfully colored sea slugs are predatory, using their sensitive, antennae-like rhinophores to track down prey species: sponges, anemones, corals, barnacles, and even their fellow nudibranchs. Lacking the shells that provide many other mollusks with safety, nudibranchs have evolved numerous defensive strategies.
Nudibranchs are experts at camouflage. By acquiring their color from their prey, some nudibranchs are able to blend in precisely with their meal of choice. Others use bright colors to warn predators of their unappetizing acids and deadly toxins.
Perhaps the most impressive defense strategy belongs to select species of aeolid nudibranchs: long, tapering nudibranchs that are covered in waving protrusions called cerata. Aeolid nudibranchs feed on stinging jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals. These prey species have venom-filled cells called nematocysts that shoot out tiny harpoon-like structures for both hunting and defense.
While they are consuming their toxic prey, nudibranchs are able to prevent the nematocysts from firing, potentially through the use of their slug slime. They are then able to store the immature nematocysts that they ingest in cnidosacs: special sacs at the tips of their cerata. These clever nudibranchs can then use the nematocysts to protect themselves against predators. The otherworldly charm of nudibranchs reminds us of the wonder that our oceans hold; one of the many reasons why they are so important to protect.
- Zoe Keller
Artist Bio
A Woodstock, New York native, Zoe Keller's creative upbringing in the rural Catskills shaped her future as an artist and amateur naturalist. After graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Keller made homes and studios in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, on the rocky Maine coast, in West Michigan's farm country, Eastern Oregon's Wallowa Mountains, and in Portland, Oregon, where she currently resides. Keller uses graphite and Procreate to create large-scale, meticulously rendered visual narratives. Placing a special focus on at-risk species and wildlands, Keller weaves drawings that explore the interconnectedness of fragile, vanishing ecosystems. By highlighting the biodiversity at risk in the Anthropocene, her work aims to inspire reverence for the natural world and action to defend what we have left.
The Story behind Nudibranchia
Zoe Keller
