Beach lovers got a taste of the ocean at the Jericho Public Library through mid-July with Michael Weinstein’s seashell photography on display. The exhibit, which was shown from July 1 to July 12, culminated with a reception for library-goers to meet Weinstein.
“I think that those that love the beach will generally appreciate my work,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein, who grew up in Jericho and currently lives in Syosset, said he has always loved the beach. When he was a youngster, he went to TOBAY on the weekends and always gravitated toward the shells. It was a hobby that he’d forgotten about when he moved to New York City after college, but one that he picked back up recently.
“It wasn’t until about a year or two ago that I started collecting some at the beach,” he said.
Weinstein said he has worked in finance for 30 years, but that he has always been drawn to art. Once he began collecting again, he said the hobby blended perfectly with his interest in photography.
Now, his love for the beach extends far beyond TOBAY. Weinstein said his work uses local shells from Centre Island and Oyster Bay, but spans Florida, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas as well.
“It really just started with a photo of a sunrise that I took in Florida…I figured I’d combine my love of photography with art,” he said.
Collecting shells from different areas lends itself to new textures, colors and designs, he said. Weinstein said he primarily uses native shells to depict scenes. In his work picturing Oyster Bay, he said he uses local collectables, including the town’s namesake, oyster shells. When depicting Florida’s West Coast, he uses an array of shells he picked off the Sunshine State’s beaches.
Weinstein said the differences between each region’s shells adds to the uniqueness of each piece.
“My work represents diversity, because every shell is different. There’s no identical shell,” he said. “There’s so many beautiful shells, different colors, different shapes, sizes, colors, big one, small ones. It’s just like people. I like to celebrate the diversity.”
This isn’t the first exhibit for Weinstein, however. He has exhibited his shell mosaics at the neighboring Oyster Bay-East Norwich library, as well as the Westhampton Beach library. The Jericho library hosted an art reception on Saturday, July 12, to celebrate Weinstein’s work.
Weinstein said he likes to include kids in the exhibit as he handed out shells for those visiting to take home.
“I like to give out shells for any exhibit to the kids, because kids are willing to learn more than adults,” Weinstein said. “Kids might go home and look up on the internet ‘What kind of shell is this? Where’s it from?’”
“I like giving them something to relate to,” Weinstein said. “Maybe there’s a future marine biologist. One kid might start with a starfish and 15 years later they’re in college studying marine biology.”
