With the Wind

2019

Butterfly, moth, gold, natural lacquer, etc.

This long-term project focuses on the disruption that urban light pollution causes to the sensory systems of nocturnal insects. Every summer, large numbers of moths and butterflies are drawn away from their original navigation paths by artificial light, trapped inside buildings, and eventually die after repeatedly colliding with glass, walls, and lamps. These deaths are often ordinary, small, and difficult to notice, yet they continue to occur throughout the nights of modern cities.

In this project, I collect the bodies of insects killed by light pollution and repair their damaged wings and bodies using the ancient Chinese lacquer restoration technique of kintsugi. Through this process, the traces of impact and damage that would otherwise be overlooked are made visible again. By working with these fragile insect bodies, the project reflects on how modern lighting systems reshape the perceptual structures and rhythms of nonhuman life.