Today is my last day of vacation, so it’s going to be more visuals than words. I came across this glamorous, wonderful tall ship made by Ann Carrington. The ship is comprised entirely of South Sea pearl jewelry, and I thought “ooooh, pretty.” Then I did a little reading, and I realized the piece, called “Galleons and Feathers,” was made, at great expense, to throw light on the unfair working conditions in Wing Wo Wave City, an industrial estate in Zhuijang Province, China, which manufactures pearl adornment in unthinkable quantities.

“It is about pearls and the discrepancy between their perceived status of being timeless status symbols of refined taste and wealth (with exotic overtones) and the often very unromantic reality. Wing Wo Wave is a Chinese sailing Junk believing the dream, cruising on a tangled never ending sea of wedding tiaras, chokers and earrings.” – Ann Carrington, artist