Pecten novaezelandiae IV by Claudia Leitgeb

In Aotearoa, the scallop shell has long carried meaning beyond its form. It speaks of the ocean as ancestor — a source of life, protection, and deep continuity. Its fan-like ridges radiate outward like shelter extended, like arms open. To hold one is to hold something that has been shaped by forces far older than any of us.

Pecten novaezelandiae IV is the fourth and final work in a strictly four-part fine art photography series by Claudia Leitgeb. Through a masterful control of light and shadow, the physical shell is visually transformed into silver — revealing what Claudia refers to as its "silver soul": the hidden radiance within, the ancestral presence made visible.

Set within a deep black field, the shell appears to float in a void — suspended between the material and the elemental. It embodies three qualities that guided the making of this series: ancestral presence, protection, and deep tranquility. Brought into a space, it does not merely decorate. It grounds.

Edition details:

• Print size: A2 — 42 × 59.4 cm (excluding frame)
• Printed on premium Fine Art Ilford Smooth Pearl paper
• Presented in a high-quality display frame — black frame with float glass
• Personally signed by Claudia Leitgeb
• Accompanied by a Certificate of Authentication
• Limited edition — strictly four works in the series

Ships carefully packaged and ready to hang.

The shell behind this series is also available as a Scallop Shell Beeswax Candle — a medium-sized Pecten novaezelandiae filled with pure beeswax and a hemp wick, $8 NZD + shipping. 50% of proceeds go to the Greenpeace movement to ban bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf.