The effects of the Anthropocene age on insects are visible and pressing, because of their near universal presence on the planet and important role in the ecosystem. In this performance and video work, Reading with Ants (2019), I shared cultural literature with a colony of Florida harvester ants. Though the gesture is obviously futile, it aims to model an equitable relationship without being moralistic. This translated into narrated video that defies narrative: my voice and the readings are directional, but the motivation of the ants is impossible to track.
Valuing the shared space and presence of the harvester ant colony is a phenomenological activity.
I have watched the sun set with them,
smelled the hot rain that means rebuilding
heard the lizards and birds, their hunters
tasted the seed they gather and store for the dry season
held the quartz grains they collect to insulate the nest
and I have witnessed the momentous event that happens once each spring
when they send a virgin queen into the world.
