The Wasp + The Bee
Above are two insects that I sourced with the intent of growing crystals onto them.
These purchases were directly inspired by the creation of my foiled butterfly wing in my previous post.
I am in love with the iridescence of the wing granted by the foil, and wanted to explore the natural occurrence of iridescence in nature. As seen below, the wings of my wasp and bee both hold natural iridescence and beautiful colours.
Indonesian Wasp
Carpenter Bee
I felt that these two specimens were too beautiful to crystallise immediately. I wanted to find a way to use them where their natural beauty and colours could be respected and not completely overtaken by crystals (at least, not yet).
I took a series of photographs to highlight the natural beauty of the insects.
See below.
I wanted to capture the incredible natural colours, textures and features of the insects.
The wasp is my favoured insect because of the contrast it poses. It is a dangerous, vicious, stinging insect that brings fear to the observer (when it is alive) - but when observed up close (and dead), it is difficult to deny that the wasp is beautiful. The wings are delicate, and so is the rest of its body (see below)
The natural colours are intriguing and soothing, almost like precious gems. The colours of the wings migrate depending on the lighting, much like the foils used on the butterfly wing.
Viewers of my taxidermy wasp were shocked, saying things like
"Wow!" "Is that real?" "Can it still sting you?"
This proves that there is still an element of fear involved when viewing real insects in my art, but also an element of curiosity and interest.
The wasp's head fell clean off at one point, and I had to superglue it back on. An antennae also snapped off, but I decided not to reapply it because I found the asymmetry interesting.
The images below were accidental, when my camera lost focus. But I found the abstractions of light very interesting.
I enjoy the ambiguity of the images. On first glance it is difficult to tell what the image is, as the viewer's eyes are drawn to the bright colours. But, looking closer, you can determine the shape of the dangerous wasp / bee.
I was not sure what was more effective. I think that the wings and head of the wasp are the most interesting part, so focused on placing the top half of the wasp on the foil to be photographed.
The lighting was difficult to control as everything in the image was wildly reflective. The wasp's wings and back were wildly reflective naturally, whereas the foil is artificially mirror-like.
This image is my favourite of the lot because of the strong contrast between black and colourful. The image is very ambiguous due to the "abstract", colourful unrecognisable background, to the point that it almost appears that the bee is in flight in some sort of colourful light show. I enjoy that all parts of the bee are shown and highlighted, showing the dark, natural beauty of the bee (which some viewers may find disgusting) in juxtaposition to a beautifully shining background.
The subtle reflections remind me of Damien Hirst's diamond cabinets. Foils without pattern are reminiscent of tiny, colourful mirrors. They are shiny and metallic. I wonder what a "diamond" cabinet would look like instead transformed into a "bug cabinet" with infinite reflections of insects instead of diamonds.
I began to experiment digitally with the images that I had taken.
I removed the background of the wasp to allow the viewer's eye to focus solely on the natural beauty of the wasp, and the wasp's wing. This way, the natural colours and iridescence are unparalleled and are not fighting for the viewer's attention.
Removing the colour allows the viewer to focus solely on the texture of the wing.
The colours reminded me of a kaleidoscope so I mirrored the wing to create that effect.
The image below is the same image, only with an image of crystals overlaying it to create an ambiguous, glimmering effect.
I took it one step further and experimented with layering tools, colours and effects onto an image of the wasp that I had previously abstracted onto a black background.
The final result is incredibly colourful and could be described as "fun" due to the vibrant hues. There is an air of ambiguity aronud the image as it is not entirely clear whether the colours are natural, or man made/digitally enhanced.
When placed amongst the other images I have taken, it may be difficult to tell, as the hues of natural and unnatural textures are difficult to differentiate. There are subtle crystal textures on the right wing.
I feel that this image could provoke some interesting responses from viewers. It is a scary, dangerous and vicious wasp, but the colours could be considered innocent, girly and beautiful. Viewers will be immediately drawn to the vibrant colours regardless of what the subject is, and it may take them a significant amount of time to realise that the insect is not something that they would usually find beautiful.
The wasp is my favoured insect because of the contrast it poses. It is a dangerous, vicious, stinging insect that brings fear to the observer (when it is alive) - but when observed up close (and dead), it is difficult to deny that the wasp is beautiful. The wings are delicate, and so is the rest of its body (see below)
The natural colours are intriguing and soothing, almost like precious gems. The colours of the wings migrate depending on the lighting, much like the foils used on the butterfly wing.
Viewers of my taxidermy wasp were shocked, saying things like
"Wow!" "Is that real?" "Can it still sting you?"
This proves that there is still an element of fear involved when viewing real insects in my art, but also an element of curiosity and interest.
The wasp's head fell clean off at one point, and I had to superglue it back on. An antennae also snapped off, but I decided not to reapply it because I found the asymmetry interesting.
The images below were accidental, when my camera lost focus. But I found the abstractions of light very interesting.
I enjoy the ambiguity of the images. On first glance it is difficult to tell what the image is, as the viewer's eyes are drawn to the bright colours. But, looking closer, you can determine the shape of the dangerous wasp / bee.
~ FOILS ~
I wanted to see how the natural iridescence of the wings compared to the artificial iridescence of nail foils.
Alone (Above)
On top of Foil (Below)
I especially enjoy this image because of the contrasting colours - I enjoy that the left side of the piece has a blue background with a warm wing, and the right hand has a warm background with a cold toned wing. I love the spectrum of colours and how they work in harmony to create a rainbow of sorts.
I think both of these images are incredibly effective. I enjoy the fact that the colours are equally as bright as eachother on both the wings and the foil, which gives a seamless effect and makes it difficult for the viewer to decipher which colours are natural and which ones are artificial.
Below I experimented with composition and lighting.
I was not sure what was more effective. I think that the wings and head of the wasp are the most interesting part, so focused on placing the top half of the wasp on the foil to be photographed.
The lighting was difficult to control as everything in the image was wildly reflective. The wasp's wings and back were wildly reflective naturally, whereas the foil is artificially mirror-like.
This image is my favourite of the lot because of the strong contrast between black and colourful. The image is very ambiguous due to the "abstract", colourful unrecognisable background, to the point that it almost appears that the bee is in flight in some sort of colourful light show. I enjoy that all parts of the bee are shown and highlighted, showing the dark, natural beauty of the bee (which some viewers may find disgusting) in juxtaposition to a beautifully shining background.
The subtle reflections remind me of Damien Hirst's diamond cabinets. Foils without pattern are reminiscent of tiny, colourful mirrors. They are shiny and metallic. I wonder what a "diamond" cabinet would look like instead transformed into a "bug cabinet" with infinite reflections of insects instead of diamonds.
I began to experiment digitally with the images that I had taken.
I removed the background of the wasp to allow the viewer's eye to focus solely on the natural beauty of the wasp, and the wasp's wing. This way, the natural colours and iridescence are unparalleled and are not fighting for the viewer's attention.
Removing the colour allows the viewer to focus solely on the texture of the wing.
The colours reminded me of a kaleidoscope so I mirrored the wing to create that effect.
The image below is the same image, only with an image of crystals overlaying it to create an ambiguous, glimmering effect.
I took it one step further and experimented with layering tools, colours and effects onto an image of the wasp that I had previously abstracted onto a black background.
The final result is incredibly colourful and could be described as "fun" due to the vibrant hues. There is an air of ambiguity aronud the image as it is not entirely clear whether the colours are natural, or man made/digitally enhanced.
When placed amongst the other images I have taken, it may be difficult to tell, as the hues of natural and unnatural textures are difficult to differentiate. There are subtle crystal textures on the right wing.
I feel that this image could provoke some interesting responses from viewers. It is a scary, dangerous and vicious wasp, but the colours could be considered innocent, girly and beautiful. Viewers will be immediately drawn to the vibrant colours regardless of what the subject is, and it may take them a significant amount of time to realise that the insect is not something that they would usually find beautiful.
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