Margaret and Christine Wertheim are representing how female artisan talents can contribute to ecological activism. Their colourful knitting exhibition, Coral Reef, is on at New York’s MAD Museum from September 15, 2016 to January, 2017. The hyper-realistic installation is a joining of mathematical abilities, knowledge of marine biology, art, and handmade processes. “It took a long time to shape such a wide variety of marine life”, Margaret says. “Manual skills and time are fundamental components in our work, which represents the endangered barrier reef in its multiple forms. It has been a work in progress”, she continues, “that has become rich with varying new animal and plant species in order to make it as realistic as possible. We have presented endangered species whose existence is being threatened by the accumulation of plastic waste on the ocean floor”. Traditional, colourful crochet has become more than surprising artwork, thanks to the talents of the Wertheim sisters; it has become a true manifesto for the protection of marine life.