9. Tyler Thrasher

Below are the artworks of artist Tyler Thrasher.

I am completely inspired by his use of natural materials and chemicals to create a beautiful (sometimes slightly morbid) blend of crystals and corpses.

See below.

Tyler Thrasher's work often involves dead insects. I was immediately drawn to his work, especially because of the way that it correlated with my crystallised wasp.

My own image

But insects are not all that he uses. See below.

Thrasher uses an array of found materials, including dead animal remains,

ethically sourced skulls,

plants,

and shells.

He even dabbles in illustration.

I admire his refusal to conform to one medium, or one subject.

His skill set is wide and his creations are vastly different each time.

Thrasher is inspired by nature, as am I. His work revolves around curiosity and experimentation, which I hugely respect. Here is a short snippet from his website. One that I can heavily relate to.

http://www.tylerthrasher.com

I can relate not only to his curiosity around nature, but his work process. I often feel that my own work comes across as sporadic and chaotic, whilst in reality, it is perfectly planned inside my own  headspace.

I also respect the fact that Thrasher is not afraid to cross over mediums. The freedom to dabble in illustration as well as photography, chemistry as well as sculpture, and digital as well as traditional, is what gives me the drive to continue and experiment within my project.

It is plain to see that Thrasher is sporadic and experimental in his process, as no two pieces are the same. It is rare that they are even presented in the same way. I would like to draw some inspiration from Thrasher's ways of presenting work. See below.

Presented ontop of a mineral.

PRO: The yellow citrine crystals are natural and beautiful. They reflect the light beautifully.

CON: The subject that Thrasher is attempting to photograph is completely swallowed by the citrine. The cicada is not the main focus, as the photograph is too busy in my opinion.

Similarly to how my wasp lost the viewer's focus when I placed it on a busy "crystal" background.

my own image

Wooden board

PRO: The cicada is the main focus of the scene. The subtle details in the background add interest without drawing away from the main focus. The wood grain is natural, so fits the theme.

CON: The random black and white lines to the right of the right hand wing is distracting.

In hand

PROS: Natural lighting hits the crystals perfectly. The hand offers a size comparison.

CON: The image seems to have been photo edited slightly, as he hand is low on detail. The background is also distracting from the main piece. The diagonal line, specifically. 

Black Background + shards:

PRO: The shards around the cicada add interest and chaos to the piece without removing interest from the main focus. The juxtaposition between natural crystals and man made gold leaf is interesting.

CON: The bigger pieces of gold leaf are eyecatching, but do not add much to the composition. I think that a large number of small pieces works better than a few large bits.

This layout reminds me briefly of one of my own images.

My own image - borax crystals on leaf

The way that the crystals have begun to crumble in the bottom right corner reminds me of Thrasher's use of gold leaf.

Large, complex arrangement

PRO: All of the materials used are completely natural. The colours compliment each other, and the small circle around the beetle adds a nice contrast, and a creates a nice space for the beetle to sit.

CON: Very busy, to the point that you barely notice the crystals on the beetle's wings. It is still a beautiful photograph, but it no longer focuses on the alchemy that Thrasher has used.

Simple Circle

PRO: The simplicity of the scene allows the viewer to notice the crystals on the beetle's frame. The simple circle adds interest and geometry, posing a contrast to the natural forms of the beetle and crystals.

CON: There isn't really a con with this simple setup. If I was going to pick and choose, I would like to see more crystals on the beetle!

Eerie Dark

PRO: The low lighting allows the crystals to reflect what little light there is, drawing attention to them. The low lighting and simple background is eerie and haunting.

It is fitting to the fact that it is a picture of a corpse, whereas many of Thrasher's other images romanticise the dead bugs. (This isn't a bad thing. I love the ironic juxtaposition in romanticising an insect's corpse.)

CON: It is almost so dark that you cannot see the right wing of the bug, which could make it confusing to a viewer on first glance. But otherwise, I love it, and the effect that the low lighting creates.

White Background

PRO: The white background allows the colour of the crystals to become visible. On a black background, the translucent crystals are muted by the dark colour and lack of lighting. White backgrounds reflect more light, making the crystals appear more saturated and more reflective.

CON: The image loses some of its "eerie" atmosphere, but if you never wanted an eerie atmosphere in the first place, that is not a problem.

I have decided that I would like to further explore working with natural materials.

This could include animal elements, plant elements, skeleton elements or insects.

I am specifically interested in ethically sourced insects.

Why?:

I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with my wasp.

There is something about using materials that were once ALIVE that made the process incredibly interesting to me, and I think that it evokes a stronger response from my viewers.

Important factors:

- It is not a material that is easily attainable. That makes it more impressive from the word GO.

- Wasps are DANGEROUS. Here, the viewer can safely observe it in a state of rest, and notice all of the tiny beautiful features that they never would have had a chance to see before. (the wing patterns, the tiny hairs.)

- The contrast between delicate and dangerous is strong. The juxtaposition can be confusing as well as eye-catching, but I think that the balance makes the piece beautiful.

- It is REAL. The piece would not have the same effect if it was not a REAL insect. There is something impressive about using real insects. I discovered this when the wasp was on my desk, and everybody that saw it reacted with: "WOAH, is that real?"

The photographs above evoked a strong response from my peers.

"It looks strangely beautiful. To think it is a dead wasp, yet it is a sort of pretty the way it is now." - Viewer 1

"There's something so strangely other-worldly about this, if that makes sense." - Viewer 2

Others that observed the photographs had nothing to say, and just pulled faces that looked like they were horrified, disgusted or confused.

I enjoy the fact that this simple pair of photographs can evoke such a wide range of reactions.

I think it would be even more interesting to continue using insects that are generally seen as dangerous or repulsive, to continue seeking contrast and shock factor.