LIFE AQUATIC
In “Siamese Fighting Fish” - the artist depicts the freshwater Betta Splendens fish (or Betta), with evocative brushstrokes of ceramic glazes. The fish are each isolated in their own tile, not unlike the actual aquarium fish which must be kept separate as the males will fight each other to the death. The species was first bred in Thailand a thousand years ago for their aggression, to fight and gamble over. Later adopted worldwide as an ornamental aquarium fish, they have been extensively bred to produce a wide variety of finnage and coloration, and are now known as the “designer fish of the aquatic world”. The mural speaks to the beauty and savagery of both the fish and our peculiar and mirrored role in their diverse genetic breeding. Part of a larger series.