Mimetic Excess
Video clip: 1:38, 2014
A looped video of an orchid bee performing an aggressive display towards its own image reflected in the lens of a camera was played on an iPad hung in a fig tree.
In collaboration with biologist Dr. Peter Wetherwax
Euglossa sp.
Glass, metal, cloth, scents, 5 1/2” x 10” x 6 ¼", 2015
Hand blown bottle containing a reproduction of the perfume male orchid bees display to attract a mate.
Male Euglossini, found in South and Central America, spend much of their time collecting scent compounds from organic materials, especially orchids, and from human products such as shampoo and agricultural chemicals. They collect these scents over lifetimes and miles, traveling extreme distances to find just the right component for their unique perfume blends they use to attract a mate.
Besides collecting compounds that humans consider attractive, such as vanilla, mint, and eucalyptus, the bees collect scents that humans consider offensive, such as compounds from feces, and the insecticide DDT. These are used for the perfume’s undertones, much as we might use musk and other compounds to add deeper notes to our perfumes and colognes. As each orchid species has a single, species-specific pollinator, these displaced compounds suggest profound consequences for over 200 described species of orchids and bees, as well as yet to be described species.
Perfume in collaboration with biologists Dr. Peter Wetherwax and Dr. Santiago Ramirez. Bottle in collaboration with Sky Glass.
scents by, for and with other species
exhibited at the Biennial Scent Fair,
Craft and Folk Art Museum,
Los Angeles
