Turning a Predator into Preservation

Each lionfish skin I use represents the protection of up to 70,000 native reef fish. One skin covers about 5 x 5 inches, which means even a medium-sized artwork reflects the preservation of hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of reef fish. My work with this material transforms an ecological crisis into something lasting and beautiful.

Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific. They were imported into the U.S. as aquarium novelties and accidentally released into Atlantic waters a few decades ago. With no natural predators here, their populations exploded across the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. A single lionfish can consume more than 50 species of small reef fish, stripping reefs of the life that keeps them balanced and alive. Left unchecked, these invasions cause coral reefs to collapse, taking with them the cultures and communities that depend on them.

In response, divers organize harvests, chefs prepare lionfish as a delicacy, and designers reclaim their skins for sustainable leather goods. But in fine art, I am the first to use lionfish leather as a medium. The skin itself holds a distinctive beauty, with intricate scale-pocket textures that catch paint in unexpected ways and make each piece entirely unique.

Through my practice, invasive lionfish are transformed from a destructive force into works of art that carry both material innovation and measurable ecological impact.