SS Murex (TBT, Blue, Blood, Red), 2023
Plexiglass, light box, Duratrans C-print
Courtesy Irene Y. Panagopoulos Collection
The world’s first modern oil tanker was named SS Murex, after a spiky seashell found on the ocean floor. Built by the founder of what is today Shell, the ship’s name originates with the family’s previous commercial enterprise before oil exploration: buying and selling seashells for decorative purposes. SS Murex presents a window into this era of oil exploration through several illuminated ships’ portholes, allowing viewers to peer into scenes of transoceanic movement on the high seas, as if they had embarked on the naval journey themselves. Archival images of oil tankers from different time periods, all named after murex shells, are shown. In the paradox of oil tankers named after delicate seashells lies a stark reflection of humanity’s extractive impulse: symbols once tied to the fragile beauty of marine life now emblazon the vessels of an industry which continues to endanger the very ecosystems that lent them their names.
Traditionally, a ship’s naming and christening ceremony were two intertwined events, meant to bring good fortune to the vessel, its crew, and its passengers. And in this case, the naming ceremony bore enormous fruit: hundreds of oil tankers were named after different seashells in the decades that followed. This trend continues into the present, despite the reality that fossil fuels have mutated into being the biggest polluters of marine life. The images highlight the toxic reddish paint on these ships’ hulls, another silent destroyer of creatures living in the depths of the sea.
Monira Al Qadiri was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1983. She grew up in Kuwait and currently lives and works in Berlin.
