The Love Motel for Insects: Anax Junios Variation will be on display as part of Notched Bodies: Insects in Contemporary Art, on view September 13 – November 13, 2013. It will be located outside of Central Park Zoo next to the Arsenal Gallery at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue (inside the park).

Opening reception: Thursday, September 12, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Since 2001, Love Motel for Insects has been an ongoing series of interactive public outdoor artwork that is both an art piece and a life science project. The works use ultraviolet lights on enormous sculptural canvases to attract insects.

The arthropods visit (unharmed) and the public watches and have the chance to learn about these amazing creatures. This is combined with Eco-Actions, where people help to collect scientific data on urban species. Produced around the world (Asia, Europe, Central and North America so far), the Love Motels have become the backdrops for trans-species community events such as eco-festivals, green graffiti jams, environmental rallies, citizen science investigations, musical events and even pheromone paintings created by the bugs themselves.

Why love bugs? Insects are one of the least understood and under appreciated groups of animals. Yet, the majority of our food crops rely on insect pollination. Countless ecosystems would collapse in their absence. Recent demise in bee populations and Monarch die-offs have attracted public attention but still how many of us have taken the time to look closely at these remarkable creatures? My sculpture in Central Park will create this opportunity!