An Illustrated History of Domestic Arthropods
Arthropods are the largest phylum on earth, with 100 million species. We are surrounded by them at all times. They are the mites that live on our skin, the wasps under our porches, the centipedes in the basement. These numerous, often tiny creatures are intimately familiar to us, and they are also alien, alarming creatures with strange, invertebrate body plans and glittering exoskeletons. This project explores the strangeness and familiarity of arthropods by imagining a world in which humans are the only vertebrates and giant spiders, bees, lobsters, and beetles roam the earth. At the core of this project is the book An Illustrated History of Domestic Arthropods, an in-world exploration of the domestication of the beloved centipede, the noble grasshopper, and the industrially useful spider, among many others. Research during my masters degree program at The University of Edinburgh and afterward has informed a rich material culture for this imagined world, and the artifacts I have made during this process have been used to create installations at Barrister’s Gallery in New Orleans, Big Blue Gallery in Iowa, and at the degree show at the University of Edinburgh. This is an ongoing project. As I continue to make fabrics, ceramics, additional publications, prints, paintings, and illustrations that flesh out this fantasy universe, I create new installations of increasing immersiveness and intensity.