OVERKILL

A beacon, a temple of death, a site for gratuitous sacrifice. For centuries, humans have been working to defend themselves against insects. Throughout our human history, we have planted herb gardens to ward off bugs and have developed both natural and synthetic chemical pesticides to further distance ourselves from insect encounters. In the 21st century we have turned to our technology to create a line of defense against insects in our occupation of the outdoors.

This piece is a formalized representation of our obsession with holding dominion over the natural world. In prioritizing utility, minimalist design conceals the cruel nature of the Zapper’s function. My redesign of The Zapper visually narrates the device's inherent danger and deadly function; adapting insects’ defensive morphology into a technology that hacks their biology. The Bug Zapper is an artifact of our war with nature; a weapon to defend our time outside and define the human domain. This work subverts the utilitarian style of the weapons we develop against insects and instead offers dramatized visuals of its cruel utility, creating an artifact of our current moment in the anthropocene and revealing our social stance against insects through design. In using textures, traces, and fragments of insects I offer triggering visuals in controlled exposures; restructuring the ways in which we encounter and engage with insect bodies.

The lantern is an instrument of colonization and territorial mapping, exemplifying how we use light as a method of extending our occupation of land. This structure is a relic for future humans who might wish to understand the average 21st century attitude towards insects. The piece is a prototype for a series of interventions on devices used in pest control. A sacred sight, a pilgrimage to light, death upon contact with a holy glow.