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slugs
I began to be attracted to slugs from early childhood.
Slug is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusk. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusk that has no shell, a much reduced shell, or only a small internal shell.
The slug is a strange phenomenon in nature. No coat, no thorns, no cover. The inside is open to the outside. It’s taking the notion of exposing the inner to a way of life. What keeps these vulnerable creatures safe in the cruel world of nature? I've often wondered how slugs survive. From the perspective of a bird or a frog or pretty much any carnivorous animal, a slug would seem to be the perfect prey: no defenses, and no ability to run away.
Well, many of them have toxic mucus on their bodies which limits their edibility, reducing the interest of predators to eat them. The status of the slug in nature seems pathetic and touching. It always seems to signify a void of a home or territory. It’s like it lost his natural place and is doomed to wander around, exposed to all elements and dangers.
Some of the species are toxic but in most cases I feel that the birds and other predators are simply suspicious of them. If the slug dares wander around in its pathetic and vulnerable way then something must be wrong and we had better leave it alone.
When I transplanted the first “slug” in 2007 I have put a small sign on the side wall saying that it’s a memorial for David Freshman, a poet from the 30’s as well as the phone number of a family member beside it. After a year and a half I got a phone call from an Israeli officer saying that the red tombstone had fallen. I asked what tombstone and why she called me and she explained. I was very thankful and came within an hour to fix it. It just slipped down and I fixed it back to its place.
My first transplant was in 2006. After a year a homeless art lover moved beside it to enjoy shade and shelter from the west direction of the Shirion Junction, Tel Aviv.
Both works are parasites of the environment and use camouflage techniques learned from parasites in nature. In a way they look like they have always been there and even if their scam were to be discovered, look like something that nobody would want to deal with.
