MOTHING
Untitled, Rêve 2020
Cyanotype on muslin, stretched over a panel
40×30in
I use the framework of ‘mothing’ to make a series of cyanotypes. I photograph the moths as they land on my sheet, attracted by shortwave UV light. I make a composite transparency negative of the images, which I use to expose a piece of paper or muslin fabric that I've treated with a photosensitive emulsion. I am careful to stay as faithful to their night-of arrangement as possible. My light kit— an evolving kind of sculpture in itself— helps me to draw species wherever I set up, enabling me to create something which highlights local biodiversity while producing an image of the results– a kind of constellation of activity suspended in the cyan-blue field.
This piece was made in the French countryside in 2019 in a town where I attended an observational painting program at the Studio Escalier. I studied painting there for six months in 2005. I was able to return to visit friends and set up my moth light. As is customary, I uploaded my observations to iNaturalist. An entomologist in a nearby was excited and surprised by the activity, and quickly confirmed my observations. I love the dream-like quality that the uneven application of the cyanotype solution made in this particular piece.
MOTHING
Untitled, Rêve 2020
Cyanotype on muslin, stretched over a panel
40×30in
I use the framework of ‘mothing’ to make a series of cyanotypes. I photograph the moths as they land on my sheet, attracted by shortwave UV light. I make a composite transparency negative of the images, which I use to expose a piece of paper or muslin fabric that I've treated with a photosensitive emulsion. I am careful to stay as faithful to their night-of arrangement as possible. My light kit— an evolving kind of sculpture in itself— helps me to draw species wherever I set up, enabling me to create something which highlights local biodiversity while producing an image of the results– a kind of constellation of activity suspended in the cyan-blue field.
This piece was made in the French countryside in 2019 in a town where I attended an observational painting program at the Studio Escalier. I studied painting there for six months in 2005. I was able to return to visit friends and set up my moth light. As is customary, I uploaded my observations to iNaturalist. An entomologist in a nearby was excited and surprised by the activity, and quickly confirmed my observations. I love the dream-like quality that the uneven application of the cyanotype solution made in this particular piece.
