Six of the eight known species of giant clams are found in the Solomon Islands. The giant clams ...

Six of the eight known species of giant clams are found in the Solomon Islands. The giant clams have been overharvested for food, its shell, and for the aquarium market, as a result they are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and protected by national and international law. There has been an undertaking of clam restocking throughout the Solomon Islands and over time these clams will help increase the natural population of giant clams as they reproduce. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with troops from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga formed the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The RAMSI peacekeeping mission has been present in the Solomon Islands since 2003. eX de Medici was sent to the Solomon Islands in March 2009 as an Australian War Memorial official artists during one of the wettest weeks of the year. Continual downpour restricted her ability to paint or sketch on site. De Medici relied on journal records and hundreds of photographs of her observations and experiences to produce her artwork. Stitching together elements from numerous photographs, de Medici created a series of artworks that does not reflect a particular location, instead merges historical and contemporary motifs revealing the uncertain future of the Solomon Islands.