insects

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with insects

Craft

Welded Insects Produced From Salvaged Metal Scraps by John Brown

Gathering spare pieces of metal, John Brown assembles his findings into sculptures of colorful butterflies, insects, and birds. Although the assemblages are formed from salvaged materials like nails and bicycle chains, the pieces somehow remain delicate, wings appearing just as thin as a butterfly’s own. After welding each piece together, Brown finishes the sculpture by painting the wings with oil paint, accurately copying the markings of specific species such as the Holly Blue and Red Admiral butterflies.

The Wales-based sculptor has lived in the rural west of his country for the past eight years, inspired by the fauna-rich valleys that compose the region. You can see more of his metal insects and other welded figures on his Facebook and Etsy page. (via Lustik)

Art Photography

Blooms of Insect Wings Created by Photographer Seb Janiak

Mimesis is an ongoing photomontage project by Paris-based photographer Seb Janiak that depicts the wings of insects as the petals of flowers. Janiak is deeply interested in the mechanisms behind mimicry in nature, where an organism develops appendages, textures, and colors that directly mirror its surroundings. This process involves a strange interaction between different organisms he describes as “a complex co-evolutionary mechanism involving three species: the model, the imitator, and the dupe.”

To create each artwork Janiak scours antique stores and taxidermist shops to find examples of wings which he then photographs at extremely high resolution. The pieces are digitally edited and pieced together into flower-like forms (a sort of meta mimic of a mimic) which are then output as chromogenic prints measuring nearly 6 feet square.

The Mimesis series, which now comprises 22 pieces, was shown for the first time at the Photo Shanghai art fair last September. The series also won an IPA Lucy award earlier this year.

 

Art Craft

Incredible Balloon Sculptures of Animals and Insects by Masayoshi Matsumoto

Don’t show these to your kids unless you want them to be completely underwhelmed by every balloon animal they see for the rest of their lives. Japanese balloon twister Masayoshi Matsumoto makes some of the most intricate balloon sculptures I’ve ever encountered. From prickly iguanas to glowing sea creatures it seems no life form is too difficult for Matsumoto to faithfully interpret using nothing but balloons. You can follow more of his work on Tumblr and on FB. (via Neatorama)

Craft Design

Winged Insects Built from Repurposed Computer Circuit Boards and Video Game Systems

Portsmouth, UK-based artist Julie Alice Chappell works with components salvaged from old computers and video game systems to make an entire taxonomic order of circuit-based insects. From used Nintendos to DVD players, any device is fair game for her winged assemblages which she sells online via Etsy. You can read a bit more about their origins on My Modern Met. (via Permaculture)

Art

Kinetic ‘Insecta’ Lamps by U-Ram Choe

Gold Insecta Lamp, 2013 by Choe U-Ram from U-Ram Choe on Vimeo.

Korean sculptor U-Ram Choe (previously) builds kinetic sculptures embedded with CPUs, motors, and LEDs that appear to be equal parts organism and artwork. Seen here are two of his smallest works to date, a pair of insect-like lamps aptly titled Silver Insecta Lamp and Gold Insecta Lamp. When switched on, the lamps reveal an ornate set of five wing-like appendages that cycle through a gentle flapping motion. You can see how they work in the video above. All photos courtesy Gallery Hyundai. (via Artsy)

Photography Science

Macro Photographs of Singapore’s Most Unusual Insects and Arachnids by Nicky Bay

One of my favorite Flickr accounts to follow is Singapore-based photographer Nicky Bay (previously) who ventures into some of the most ecologically diverse (ie. creepiest and crawliest) places in the world to shoot macro photos of insects, arachnids, and fungi. Bay went on 46 different shooting excursions in 2014 and discovered creatures that seem more at home in an Avatar movie than here on Earth. He’s also begun working more with ultraviolet light that he uses to reveal the natural fluorescence of many organisms he encounters. My favorite discovery while scrolling through Bay’s 2014 photos is this species of moth that builds a cage out of its own caterpillar spines to protect itself while in a pupal stage. You can follow his day-to-day adventures on Facebook.