Amazing. French artist Hubert Duprat chooses a unexpected medium to work with – insects. Caddis fly larvae to be specific.
These small winged insects create protective cases spun from silk and substances such as grains of sand, plant material, bits of fish bone or crustacean shell. However, the larvae are remarkably adaptable and if other suitable materials are introduced into their environment, they will often use them as well. That’s where Duprat comes in.
After collecting the larvae from their natural environments, he relocates them to his studio where he removes them from their own natural cases and places them in an aquaria filled with alternative materials such as gold spangles and all kinds of semi-precious and precious stones including turquoise, opals, coral, pearls, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. Cases are built by one insect, then discarded when it evolves into its fly state; often, it is recovered by other larvae who may tweak it by adding to it or altering its size and form.
A clever collaboration between art and nature. Who’s the true artist here – Duprat, or the little flies?
via Cabinet Magazine
Leave a Reply