Atlas Moths
The atlas moth is the largest moth in the world. These moths were hand raised by a friend of mine, who has provided a disclaimer. In life, the moths lived inside her house and passed away naturally when their lifespan was up. The damage to their wings was self inflicted, as the large moths collided with Alice's shelves and furniture. Alice's moth breeding space is large and spacious, although these moths are ridiculously large, so collisions were inevitable.
The moth specimens are imperfect, although, I feel that that adds to their character. It is a form of natural damage, and so, the resulting shapes are organic and interesting.
I took macro photography of the natural markings of the moths.
Having handled the moths briefly in the first 10 minutes that I received them, I discovered how delicate they were when a wing fell straight off with minimal pressure.
THESE MOTHS ARE VERY DELICATE.
My experiments had to be especially delicate to compromise.
I had 5 moths to experiment with. I wanted to grow crystals on 2 (alum).
I chose alum crystals because they are significantly more delicate - they grow much more slowly, which places less weight on the wing. Also, alum crystals are much more transparent which will give a window to the beautiful colours beneath.
Also, I can use my chromium alum to add pigment to the alum if desired.
The moths were too big to fit into any of my containers.
I severed one wing.
Below I let the moth soak in alum for 5 days. I sprinkled tiny amounts of chromium alum onto the wing to give it purple spots of crystal.
Below are the results.
The moth was buoyant and difficult to keep under the water. I used a pin to keep the moth's body in position, but over time it floated upwards.
The moth's body became moist and began to rot. The wing did not rot because it was completely submerged.
The mould was disgusting, although, when viewed up close with my macro lens, the thousands of tiny spores created an interesting scene.
I could not keep the body together with the wing else the mold would have spred.
I just used scissors to sever the wing.
Surprisingly, I found that the wing looked even more enchanting without the body. It allowed the viewer to focus on the conflicting patterns, colours and geometric shapes without distraction.
The image above is my favourite because of the clean gradient between the beautiful clear crystals and the wing below them.
This close up, viewers cannot tell what is going on in the image. All they can see is beautiful crystals glimmering in the light, which evokes feelings of wealth, or perhaps feelings of peace because of the natural colours and shapes.
The chromium alum had bled into the crystals below, leaving purple specs that looked a lot like amethyst geodes.
I found that I liked the effect of a single wing most of all, so I experimented with a single wing in clear alum.
I loved how the torn edges of the wing blended with the crystals. It is almost as if the crystals had begun to eat away at the wing.
I don't think it would have been anywhere near as effective with a solid wing. I think the "decay" adds interest.
Macro lens images: To bring attention to the subtle colours and textures of the crystals and the wing.
Usually alum is incredibly delicate, but I made sure to use an entire packet of alum in hopes of strengthening the crystals.
It worked, as I was able to remove the crystals from the plastic tub without any breakage, as one clean "slab".
I let it dry and harden on a tea towel before sealing it with some clear nail polish.
It added an extra layer of protection as well as making the crystals permanently shiny.
The crystals are always more appealing and noticeable when they are wet, and the polish makes them look "permanently wet" to give a strong glimmering effect in the light.
This image is of the final product under direct light. The light shimmers and reflects off of each individual crystal to create a glimmering diamond effect.
I find that this image is successful although it makes me slightly sad due to the broken wing. It is a mixture of "old + broken" and "new + shiny".
I can understand why viewers would find this image beautiful, but also slightly unnerving, as it is a severed and torn wing. It looks like a butterfly wing (due to the size and colours) which may lead viewers to feel attached to it, and upset that it is broken / trapped in crystals. It may lead viewers to wonder where the rest of the moth is, and why only one wing has been used.
These are all interesting lines of thought that I would like to evoke from viewers.
Displaying this piece:
I used superglue to affix the alum "sheet" to card that I had painted black. I wanted the white, opaque crystals to show up against the dark background to allow them to stand out rather than blend in with their surroundings. The simple white frame adds an extra dimension to the piece, whilst protecting the delicate crystals.
There is no glass in the frame, because I want the crystals to be able to react to direct light rather than refracted light. Also, I feel that glass would make the piece less personal and intimate for the viewer, as items behind glass often seem much further away and less desirable.
I experimented with adding extra wings to the same frame, but I thought that it was too much.
I preferred it alone.
EVALUATION:
I feel that the use of these wings was a wise decision. I could have discarded them because they were broken, but instead, I used their weaknesses to my strengths and made a more interesting piece of art overall for it.
I will display photographs alongside my moths due to the fact that the details are the most intriguing parts, and the piece is too delicate to be handled freely. Photographs will allow the viewer to pick up on the smallest of details without any risk of breaking, but the original piece will still be present for comparison.
Moth Compilation Canvas
I consider this piece to be a compilation of all the basic materials that I have experimented with this semester.
- Crystals.
- Insects.
- Mirrors.
- Glitter.
First, I intended to crystallise the entire canvas by suspending it underwater in a borax solution. I hoped that the borax crystals would solidify across the whole canvas and "freeze" the moths to the canvas. This did not work, and it only crystallised the canvas itself in certain places. (Top right corner)
I decided to experiment with the other materials that I had used this semester.
The left wing of the bottom moth is covered in borax crystals. The right wing has a slither of mirror on the bottom wing.
The left wing of the top moth is coated with glitter polish. The right wing has yet another slither of mirror on the bottom wing, but the top wing is completely untouched to allow the viewer to tell that it is a completely natural specimen, and appreciate the beauty of the natural wing.
I think that correct lighting makes all the difference for this piece, as the individual elements do not succeed without being illuminated. Natural lighting is best, as seen above.
I think that this piece will evoke many questions from the viewers, as it seems to have been thrown randomly together, when in fact there was weeks of development behind refining the specific ideas used.
I find that the piece evokes a strange mixture of futuristic, natural and rustic metaphors.
