It’s not every day that an artist talk takes place in a science classroom, but that was entirely appropriate for the November 7 discussion with Mexican artist Siglinde Langholz, whose work is currently on view at the McCarthy Art Gallery at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester. Part of her installation can be seen through a microscope; her collaborators were Bombyx mori, commonly known as silkworms.
“Bombyx Mori: Micro Tissue Intersections” is admittedly a little inscrutable. One wall holds 11 sculptures. Each consists of a mirrored oval about the size of a person’s face. Langholz has attached a magnifying bug viewer — a small, clear plastic box with a lens in the lid — to each mirror. A visitor peeking into the magnifier sees a unique image printed on clear acetate, from photos of silkworm caterpillars to scientific diagrams of their anatomy. Each sculpture also incorporates an oval of backlit, peach-colored vellum, delicately poked with a needle to form a constellation of raised bumps that mimic silkworm eggs.
On the opposite wall, three crumpled sheets of what look like 3-foot-square pieces of foil insulation are covered in clusters of empty silkworm cocoons. Sewn on by the artist, they resemble yellow and white packing peanuts.
A projected video shows magnified microscope views of the insects and their silk fibers, accompanied by a somewhat haunting tonal sound: an amplified, enhanced version of the noises silkworms make, including chewing leaves. On a central table, visitors can use microscopes to examine dead silkworm specimens and related slides. (Though live caterpillars have been part of Langholz’s past shows, U.S. Customs precluded that possibility.) Jars contain prints on acetate of cells and other magnified biological structures. Viewers can also handle hanging skeins and balls of soft, shiny natural silk.
Langholz doesn’t include exhibition text or didactics. When asked why, she said, “I never tell.” She wants people to interact with the work on their own terms, discovering what’s intriguing or meaningful to them. Instead of explaining, she offers clues, intending to “leave the traces and see what happens.”
St. Mike’s students have responded positively to that approach, according to gallery director and curator Brian Collier. By email, he said some were intrigued by the equating of animal or insect labor to human work; others commented on the exhibition’s interactivity. For many, “it seemed to trigger a real sense of wonder.”
From Puebla and currently working in Hidalgo, Langholz holds a PhD as well as an MFA. Her practice is interdisciplinary, ranging from biology to sound art. The installation at St. Mike’s grew from her research in the state of San Luis Potosi, famous for its finely woven silk rebozos (Mexican shawls).
In her artist talk, Langholz said she’s always been interested in textiles.
From that starting point, she literally and figuratively followed threads wherever they led — to entomology, sculpture, and philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and Erin Manning. Manning’s concept of the “more-than-human” has influenced Langholz’s work with the silkworms, she said.
For this show, as well as previous installations involving bees, Langholz has called anthropocentrism into question by viewing the insects as collaborators. She described their cocoons as “mobile architecture,” a viewpoint borne out by the formal beauty of the structures she has made into pieces on the wall. Magnifying and amplifying the creatures’ work is a way to introduce viewers to possibilities most humans would never consider.
Visitors may be familiar with hands-on science exhibitions presented as explanations of the world. Langholz’s work crosses over into visual art precisely because it doesn’t attempt to do that. The artist mentioned a favorite quote from Manning: “A process set up anywhere reverberates everywhere.” When she makes art, Langholz said, “suddenly there’s an echo that brings you to another thing, and then that brings you to another thing — it’s really important in a creative process.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Micro Makers: Siglinde Langholz Creates Art With Silkworms at St. Mike’s”
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2024.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
