It is not possible to appreciate the sculptural and luminous quality of Rob's work in two dimensions, such as on this website page or in an exhibition catalogue. It is highly recommended that you view the work in person.
My World Too
Living and luminous entities with which we share our world
My World Too - Rothschild's Moth (Rothschildia lebeau inca), 2019
My World Too - Pink Spirit Moth (Actias rhodopneuma), 2020
Gallery visualisations - Click to expand
ARTIST STATEMENT: I have always had a passion for keeping and breeding silk moths, members of the Saturniidae family. It has been a long-term project to represent these living and luminous entities as larger than life lenticular light sculptures. Whilst most objects are solid and fill all three-dimensions of space, some, such as these moths, are planar in nature. I became fascinated by two-dimensional surfaces that occupy and cut through three-dimensional space. Of course, this perception is only at our macro level. At the micro-level, such two-dimensional surfaces or planes of energy become fully three dimensional. I also became fascinated by the glorious patterns and textures of a silk moths wings, which are evocative of extravagant textiles. Indeed, some of these works, such as my Deaths head hawk moth and my Royal moth, are suggestive of richly decorated cloaks hanging around the shoulders of alien beings. Butterfly and moth wings are made up from many tens of thousands of minute scales, each one a discrete colour and redolent of the stitches of an elaborate tapestry. The name ‘My World Too’ conveys that these radiant life-forces have as much right to share and exist in our three-dimensional space-time as we do. The entire world, with its richness and diversity of life forms is the most beautiful of tapestries, woven with the energy and light of quantum fields. Only living moths are recorded, which have recently emerged from their cocoons and are at their most vital. Look closely and you may see something move.