Coral reefs are essential for the oxygenation of our planet. But they are dying on both sides of our oceans. Coral reproduction is slow and random. The larvae lack more and more supports on which to attach themselves. So to help corals recolonize the seabed, Jérémy Gobé, visual artist, launched the Corail Artefact project with lace. The idea may seem absurd. However…. The surface offer of this lace allows the larvae to have more support to attach themselves while allowing water to pass between the alveoli.
Bobbin lace from Le Puy en Velay and its “point d’esprit” corresponds exactly to the morphology of one of the species of coral. Only the cotton material is not suitable for ecological reasons and its too rapid biodegradability. Jérémy Gobé had to look for another material as malleable as lace, but more solid and above all non-polluting! A starch-based polymer lace is therefore manufactured by lace makers from Puy en Velay.
The “in situ” tests of the Corail Artefact project will take place on the coral reefs of Guadeloupe at the end of 2022.