Lovely Larvae

Once upon a time, Jack was in an interview for a co-op position, and his foot fell asleep. When he stood to shake hands at the end of the meeting, he fell straight onto the interviewer’s desk. Oh, how they laughed!

This morning, I did the same thing.

In a meeting.

With coffee.

It’s been that kind of day.

But! Today Jack also introduced me to the work of Hubert Duprat, and this has made it all a little bit better.

Duprat is a sculptor, and has worked in all sorts of media, but he is best known for his ongoing works with caddis fly larvae. Yes – live larvae.

The aquatic larvae are known to incorporate pieces of their environment into their protective shells using silk threads as a binding agent. In 1982 Duprat wondered what would happen if one were to carefully remove the larvae’s shells, and deposit them into an environment filled with luxurious alternatives.

The results are fairly astonishing. (I’m particularly fond of the use of pearls.)

You can read more about Duprat’s work with caddis fly larvae at Cabinet Magazine, find a more detailed discussion of the science behind it all at Leonardo Online, and catch a video interview at Open Culture. Science!

image credits: 1,2,3-via Cabinet Magazine; 4-via Open Culture