After dark

Within nature, a delicate balance exists between flora and fauna that is at once threatened and misunderstood. Despite many plant and animal populations being on the decline, not all populations receive the same amount of attention. Out of this concern, this work evaluates the less-popular species facing population decline, such as nocturnal pollinators like moths and bats, and investigates how to make their importance more accessible.

Several various processes were employed to discover unique ways to depict nocturnal pollinators, from lumen prints and cyanotypes to illustrations and a combination of the few. The lumen print and cyanotype processes are considered alternative photographic processes, allowing centuries-old techniques to inform contemporary work and problems. These non-traditional methods allow nature to play a role in the production of these images, whether by the sun exposing the prints or the inclusion of the subjects themselves in the process. Alternative processes are also dependent on light and time, much like the fauna that work the night shift.

The variation in the resulting works became evocative of the variation that already exists in nature. Not one print looks identical to another, creating an interest in both the diversity throughout the work and within nature. Arranging aesthetically pleasing compositions that romanticize plant-pollinator relationships creates an access point for viewers to engage with the topic.

This body of work reveals a need for societal attention on nocturnal pollinators, especially up against negative misconceptions regarding these species. It simultaneously asks the viewer to consider the fragility of life, not just among plants and animals but human beings as well. Empathy fueled by looming death and fear offer the viewer another perspective on the other types of life we share the planet with.