Trillion has eighteen zeros

Insects are creatures which are not small enough for us not to notice them, but indeed small enough for us to take no notice of them.

There are an estimated trillion insects living in the world. They fall into three to four million species, though some statistics claim that there are even up to twenty million species of insects. Their combined mass exceeds that of any other creatures. There are 250 million insects for one human, and 300 kilos of insect bodies for one kilo of our body. Insects are an extremely important and irreplaceable element of the ecosystem.

I spent one year collecting dead bodies of insects. I found them in various corners of human lives, and before picking them up, I filmed and took pictures of them. I used a phone, for I always had one on me.

My project consists of insect bodies which were coated with copper, nickel and, finally, 24-karat gold. To this purpose, I relied on the electrochemical processes of electroforming and galvanization, in which electric current is used to transfer cations from the anode to the cathode, while submerged in a bath of a suitable solution. I carried out the procedures myself, devoting an appropriate amount of attention and time to each of the bodies. The objects are put on display at places where dead insects can naturally be spotted, such as windowsills and the floor.

Besides the insects, there are also invisible loudspeakers in the room. From time to time, they emit a subtle and ephemeral quadrophonic sound of an insect flying by, which produces unpleasant sensations.

The exhibition space seems emptyish at first, as it takes time to discern the precious insects.

This art piece is now a part of the contemporary art collection of the Zachęta Lower Silesian Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts and previously has won the 5th Best Media Arts Gradutation Projects Competition during the WRO Media Art Biennale organised by the WRO Art Center and the Academy of Fine Art in Wroclaw.