Living Intermission

By using living silk-moths, the experience became a collaboration between the insect and the artist. The elaborate container, multiple bulbs, and excessive interior hanging apparatus were intended to create walls of imposing light and fluttering shadows, however, the moth collaborators decided to transform my setting into something else. The exterior walls when lit were bright yet tranquil with the only shadows visible being four curious objects slightly above eye level. It seemed to draw the viewer beneath the floating cube revealing the network of wires which were transformed into line work. As the viewer observed beneath, the main lights turned off allowing the eye to wander within the warm glow that the fabric picked up from an exterior light. At this point, the viewer may notice one large silk-moth hanging from the ceiling of the fabric and that the four obscure silhouettes previously noticed were produced by the cocoons of other moths waiting to emerge. They took on the representation of life waiting to begin and to end. With Living Intermission, I created the space and allowed the moths to define the experience.


Jeremy Tan
Living Intermission, 2007
Fabric, wire, bulbs, Polyphemus moths and cocoons
9' X 12' X 13'