Micro-Landscapes of the Anthropocene

Agency of the Ignored

The significance of the insect is a concept most intriguing in the critical and creative engagement of insect worlds. The exploration of mankind’s experiences with what they thought of as trifling forms of life raises the question of what is arguably the ‘correct’ way to interpret them. Assign insects with a sense of agency: a will to act on their own accord, or propel ourselves to continually believe that they are husks, only existing to carry out their ancestral rituals. A closer examination into insects and their behaviour specifically in literature allows us to breakdown common notions, draw connections and align thought processes in an attempt to further understand the creatures that heave the essence of existence on their minute shoulders.

A reflection on the close reading of Emily Dickinson’s “I Heard A Fly Buzz — When I Died” revealed a subversion in relation to conventional thought processes of insects. The poem, which is about death cannot shake away the presence of the fly and as result, questions came into mind about the ontology of humans and what it meant to insects. The answer is that insects could care less about the psychological workings of human. In the case where death is the most climaxing feature of one’s life, the fly only has the capacity to respond by eating the rotting flesh left behind it. It does not have the ability to sympathise. Here, we begin to get a glimpse of Massumi’s “pure mechanism” whereby the fly can only considered as “an innate condensation of ancestral wisdom passed from generation to generation.” It has no thoughts of us allowing it to disrupt such solemn procedures as funerals.
 

While it can be agreed that insects have no opinion of humans, that does not mean we should condemn them for lack of sympathy. The metamorphosis in our understanding and interpretation of insects continued with the donning of perspective in the form of photo essay. Particularly in the case of the hummingbird moth, and the spider-web, the intra-actions that take place within their spectrum shapes the perception about them. More specifically, the phenomena of the hummingbird moth is resulted from intra-action of adaptation, allowing it to inherit the instinctive agency of the actual hummingbird. The written in second-person, choose-your-own-adventure style writing, attempts to capture the intra-relationship between moth, hummingbird and human. In essence, the photo essay makes an effort to relay the experience of a variety of insects outside the focalisation of humans.


The short film focuses on the sympathy gained from drawing connections between humans and insects through seemingly the mimicry of insects by humans. The construction of human communities bears resemblance to an ant colony in many ways. With a change in perception, an appreciation for insects connecting our existence to them even though we are arguably hindrance to their survival. We can find an awareness to them that’s not just expressed from an onomatopoeic buzz.

References
Grusin, Richard, editor. The Nonhuman Turn. University of Minnesota Press, 2015. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt13x1mj0.

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  1.  
    „Assign insects with a sense of agency: a will to act on their own accord, or propel ourselves to continually believe that they are husks, only existing to carry out their ancestral rituals. A closer examination into insects and their behaviour specifically in literature allows us to breakdown common notions, draw connections and align thought processes in an attempt to further understand the creatures that heave the essence of existence on their minute shoulders. (Insect Worlds)



    Through a deconstruction and dissection of insects, humans replicate the insect world through a technological reimagination. Nanorobotics and microrobotics often draw inspiration from nature, replicating them to serve a purpose (medical, weaponary or aesthetic) for humankind. We create these tiny robots that mimic the behaviours and structure of insects to give these robots an existence. Perhaps like worker ants, these robots carry out a singular duty to serve their creator. 

    As we explored within the plant world, there is an innate desire within humans to control and manipulate nature to fit an aesthetic. In Courtney Ryan’s article, Playing with Plants, she explores the peculiarity of suburban landscaping and lawns. I think in a way like how we mimic the structure of insects through robotics, we create and shape these perfect lawns and topiaries to mimic nature. Yet the careful maintenance and design of these products (lawns and insect robots) signify human desire to control nature to fit into a certain polished aesthetic. Technological and man made reimaging of nature seeks to place human vision at the top of hierarchal, playing part to the arbitrary definitions and structures placed on nature. 



    Natalie Cheung

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