Reflections on light pollution resulted in the creation of a swarm of mayflies screen-printed from mayfly body imprints on silk using cyanobacteria and mayfly bodies gathered from lake Winnipeg. I discovered that by using a UV light, I could attract a live swarm to the piece and that it would allow me to experiment with cyanotype that is sensitive to UV rays. This allowed me to capture ghostly images of ephemeral moments of insects joining the swarm. The piece, despite detracting moths momentarily from their regular habits does so in a very minimal way and is meant to be a gentle interference inspiring response-ability from both the human and the insect. The final Phototaxis piece also includes screenprints of moth bodies with copper pigment and uses only Peace or Ahimsa silk which is harvested from moths that have emerged from their cocoons alive.
