Did you know...

The light on the outside of your house that you flick on each evening in the hope it will guide visitors up the garden path or deter unwanted persons and pests is having an effect on our nocturnal pollinators.

Whilst preparing for my recent exhibition, I got slightly distracted. A click and then a few more clicks when online one day saw me reading about moth flight habits. 

I originally came to looking at moths after visiting a display of an extraordinary number of butterflies and moths at Auckland Museum in 2018. Whilst viewing these specimens, my mind was swirling with the possibility of capturing the intricacies of the wing designs in my paintings. Many of the specimens on show looked like haute couture fashion creations or stunning kimono silk designs. So, I ventured to the library and online, making countless visual searches for kimono and moths.

From this, came a cluster of works that were more geometric in nature than other works I was creating. This series looked at moth flight paths, and in particular, research into the evolution of some moth species and changed behaviour patterns as a result of increased artificial light sources.

Increased density of built environments with lights on at night are having a significant effect on these crucial and clever little insects that are often overlooked for their more ‘beautiful’ relatives (the butterflies). 

You can read more from Science Mag here >>

Let Marama the moon light your garden tonight.

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