DANIAL KARIKO
I hope that these images draw attention to the environment we occupy. Far too often, we consider the world from strictly human-centered point of view. If our current situation reveals anything, it is that we cannot isolate ourselves from nature. I hope this work starts a conversation on how do we better recognize that humanity is a part of the larger ecosystem and that we depend on that biodiversity.
-Daniel Kariko
Daniel Kariko, Sun Room Corner, August 26th [Owlet Moth], Stereoscopic microscope/ scanning electron microscope composite image
In 2015, GreenHill presented Daniel Kariko’s series of insect portraits “Suburban Symbiosis: Insectum Domesticus” in the exhibition Microcosm. When creating the series, Kariko’s own suburban home became the laboratory for his research: “I started recording indoor wildlife consistent with the environment my subdivision occupies....In the Southeast, where I live, the seasons can be measured by the occurrences of different insect swarms. Insects represent almost 85% of all known animal species. Taxonomists name and describe about 2000 species of insects annually.”
Owlet Moth was found in the artist’s “sun room corner.” The moth, with its snake-like antennae and hearing organs and single large circular eye, is revealed in incredible detail with every hair defined. Kariko’s image is created using multiple overlays: “using the realistic color images from a stereo microscope and stacking them with the high resolution black and white images from the Scanning Electron Microscope.”
Kariko had experimented with combining digital photography with images produced through scanning electron microscopes early on. As he continued to work with insects, the artist’s approach changed over time. A natural history collection documenting invisible members of the artist’s “Suburban Safari” became a portrait gallery: “My view of them evolved over the first year or so of the project. Using very specific lighting techniques, I started depicting these creatures using formal, classical art portrait tropes in order to further infuse humor, connections with history, and layers of individuality.” The moth’s pose seen in “profile” and hairy body evoke Baroque portraits of stout-bodied noble men in furs as does the warm Rembrantesque light. Kariko’s composite images seamlessly blend art and science and inspire empathy for our “often-overlooked housemates” by revealing a new type of beauty as revelatory as the first microscopic images of insects Galileo described in 1624: “I have observed many tiny animals with great admiration, among which the flea is quite horrible, the mosquito and the moth very beautiful….” They also inspire reflection on the pressure man exerts on nature: “these little (and sometimes not so little) invaders are a natural products of our own occupation of their habitat. As we keep expanding our subdivisions to the outskirts of towns, we inhabit recently altered environments.” Kariko’s insect portraits have recently been published:
Vist Kariko in his studio and observe his process HERE
Daniel Kariko is currently editing a series of photographs of Louisiana coastal landscapes, tentatively titled: Impermanence: Louisiana’s Fraying Coast. His work has been shown nationally and internationally. He is presently an Associate Professor of Photography at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.