Insecticide 17

This artwork featured in House of Beasts (2012).

Enlarged to an epic scale, Mat Collishaw’s gigantic photograph of a squashed insect found its place over the Inner Library’s mantle piece- a place usually reserved for portraits of the notable and powerful.

An infinite number of parasites and insects can be found in our homes. The artist has captured the moment of their death with a sense of tragedy and violence contrasting with our habitual indifference towards the death of an insect.

These same small creatures can cause enormous damage and are a constant preoccupation for the conservation teams of the National Trust. Their fight against this invisible enemy is illustrated here on the grandest of scales.

Image: Matt Collishaw, Insecticide, installation view, House of Beasts, Attingham Park, 2012. Image courtesy of Meadow Arts. 

 

About the artist

Mat Collishaw

Mat Collishaw exhibited in House of Beasts, Attingham Park, 2012.

Image: Mat Collishaw, The Beast in Me. Digital photo. Courtesy Anne Faggionato.