Entangled ant vision, Bongil Bongil, northern NSW, 2024

digital collage, acrylic paint, fluoro and invisible ink, UV torch, dimensions variable

This collage combines macro photography with drawing to interpret a more-than-human vision of entanglements between living matter. It critiques the ‘scientific gaze’ that historically wielded power and control over the natural environment. The removal of organisms from their entangled setting for study in sterile lab conditions misses details of connection and interaction that is best understood through slow observation in their own environment. This work’s feminist gaze counters the scientific gaze by adopting humility and slow observation to see details of liminal unnoticed spaces.

The collage’s hues of green, blue, yellow and ultraviolet reflect the visual spectrum of the Australian bull ant, a large ant that uses her exceptional vision instead of pheromones for navigation and hunting. Ultraviolet is made visible to the human eye with invisible ink illuminated by a black light/UV torch. The crisp foreground blurs as it recedes to reflect the bull ant’s visual distance of around 1.5 metres. The ant’s ground level perspective hints at the extent of what is hidden from our viewpoint.

The 90 layers of the collage comprise my macro photographs from observational fieldwork in Bongil Bongil National Park, south of Coffs Harbour, NSW. The organisms are identified with assistance from the citizen science platform iNaturalist, and are listed at the bottom of this page.

The mock-up below illustrates the project’s planned final design – to offer an immersive experience of the ant’s scale and perspective. It will be augmented by an original audio track based on the ant’s ability to sense vibrations in place of conventional sound.