Featuring the photographs of Kate Breakey and Samuel James, this exhibition illuminates the delicate beauty of moths and fireflies, underscoring their vital role in the health of our ecosystems. Breakey’s intimate portraits of moths and James’ incandescent images of fireflies elevate these often-overlooked creatures, transforming them into potent symbols of fragility, inviting reflection on our relationship with the natural world and the urgent need for conservation. Together, their photographs evoke a reverence for nature’s impermanence and the biodiversity we must protect. Works by Nika Kaiser, exploring the profound connections between humans and the environment, will be on view In the Cases.
Revealing the Hidden Beauty of Moths
Kate Breakey invites us to closely examine the extraordinary beauty of moths, often overlooked in favor of their more colorful butterfly cousins. Her photographs capture the intricate patterns and delicate wings of creatures like the Scarlet Tiger Moth Callimorpha dominula, n.d., revealing their remarkable elegance and graphic complexity. "Moths are misunderstood creatures and ofter overlooked," says Breakey. "But when you take a moment to truly see them, their staggering beauty and mysterious transformation into winged creatures is nothing short of fantastic."
Breakey's moth portraits draw on the traditions of natural history illustration and art photography, with affinities to the work of naturalist illustrators Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and John James Audubon (1785-1851), and botanical photographer Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932). She magnifies and enlarges the moth specimens hundreds or even thousands of times, bringing their exquisite features to human scale, and continuing the tradition of scientific accuracy while celebrating their elusive forms. Beyond their aesthetic value, Breakey's photographs carry an important message - that these vital pollinators may soon be gone forever. A passionate advocate for conservation, Kate Breakey invites us to reflect on the unseen splendor of the living world and the need to protect it before it vanishes.
The Luminous Dance of Fireflies
Samuel James transforms the elusive world of fireflies into a shimmering, mystical spectacle. His long-exposure photographs capture their bioluminescent courtship, revealing the hypnotic language of light that connects these insects across vast spaces. Over six years of careful documentation, James has created images that celebrate the fireflies’ breathtaking radiance while underscoring their vulnerability. “Having witnessed the destructive forces of mankind globally, I now seek primarily to show and to celebrate that which still exists,” says James, “and to foster a connection between humanity and the myriad lifeforms which comprise our ecological and spiritual life support system.”
The firefly images merge artistry with ecological awareness, evoking a romantic, almost ethereal vision of the world. The glowing trails of fireflies become fleeting brushstrokes of light, transforming the dark landscape into a magical realm. Photographs like Photuris versicolor complex, bottomland, Appalachian Ohio, 2024 tap into the sublime, capturing the emotional awe and wonder that nature inspires. In doing so, Samuel James not only celebrates the ephemeral beauty of fireflies but also issues a quiet yet urgent call to action.
Connecting Humans and the Natural World
Nika Kaiser is a visual artist working with photography, video, and installation. Her art practice deploys a meeting of the imaginary and the real to explore ideas of deep time, interspecies connection, anti-capitalism, and future ecologies, and is informed by her upbringing in the Sonoran borderlands. Her work encourages us to reflect on our role in the environment and how the future of both humans and the biosphere is deeply intertwined.
Vital Body is a series of illuminated photographs that explore a metaphysical imagining of the outcome of extraction: as biological ancestors (fossilized creatures of the planet’s past) are forced from the earth, they emerge from sand as glowing specters, permeating disruption to the surface of the earth in redressment of their violent summoning.
