MAPWORKS
Mapping Insect movements
Charlotte Dorn
This project, called Movement Registrations, was created in August 2024 on a playground near Parc de Can Jalpí in Arenys de Mar, Spain. It is one of several graphic series based on life drawing that investigate drawing and printing as ways of knowing. Underlying this is a quest for alternative methods of representing insects and discovering what they are doing. Drawing is thereby considered a way of creating embodied knowledge, selecting what is considered relevant, fostering intimacy and mapping environments involving multiple actants.
Mapping insect movements in the context of a playground designed by humans for children tells an alternative story of the inhabitants and dynamics of this territory.
In the Movement Registrations, I follow the firebug’s path with my eyes and transcribe it through blind drawing. Over a time frame of approximately five minutes, the movement is traced, creating maps of a personal experience of insect movement within a specific time and space.
Figure 1.
Blind drawing contrasts with conventional observational drawing by emphasising the process of engagement (Ingold, 2015), rather than the creation of an accurate image. This technique prioritises the act of observing over the judgement of the marks being made. It relies on an embodied understanding of drawing, in which the hand intuitively follows the eye without conscious control or visual feedback. This approach taps into tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1966) and allows for a more bodily and immersive experience.
However, blind drawing has its limitations. As there is no opportunity to correct or adjust the drawing in real time, the recorded movement may not accurately reflect the firebug’s actual path, often resulting in distortions or exaggerations. Moreover, the absence of visual feedback makes the drawings more difficult to analyse or reproduce. Nonetheless, the process enables the sensory experience to be translated into movement, with visual information travelling through the body, arm and hand, rather than directly from the eye to the hand.
Developing these drawings into graphic works through printmaking offers a way of re-engaging with the experience of observing the firebug and of becoming more aware of the image-making process itself. When printing the woodblock, the grain of the wood emerges as an active agent (Barad, 2007), significantly shaping the final image. The physicality of engraving introduces a tactile dimension, transforming fleeting gestures into lasting marks. The act of carving becomes a form of embodied memory, reinforcing the presence and agency of the firebugs (Andersen, 2017). Through the repeated gestures of engraving, the initial movements are solidified, creating a layered process of engagement and reflection that deepens the connection between printmaker and firebugs.
As insect representations in scientific contexts are often characterised by precision, stasis and neutral backgrounds, I aim, through these drawings, to propose images that convey the dynamic and singular aspects of firebug existence. Ultimately, the intention is to create images that emerge from an attentive correspondence with the subject.
Because I must respond to the firebug’s movements in real time, I need to remain focused and responsive. I believe that such mindfulness within creative processes generate images that are more likely to provoke sensitive, affective responses in viewers.
This work (22x30cm, 2024) maps the movements of a spider, an ant and a grasshopper during an afternoon. The following prints (9x12cm each, 2024) show the behavior of firebugs. The works are printed with oil-based ink on Japanese pap
References
· Anderson, Gemma. Drawing as a Way of Knowing in Art and Science. Falmouth/University of the Arts London: Intellect Press, 2017.
· Barad, Karen. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2007.
· Ingold, Tim. The Life of Lines. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015.
· Polanyi, Michael. The Tacit Dimension. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1966.
Short Bio
Charlotte Dorn is an artist and researcher living in Brussels and doing an artistic PhD at LUCA School of Arts and KU Leuven. She absolved her Master in Art at the Accademia di Belle Arti die Napoli and her Bachelor in the Arts at the Académie des Beaux-Arts Nantes Métropole and the Universidad de Sevilla, Campus Bellas Artes. Dorn’s artwork mainly consists of printmaking. Through drawing and life observation, she approaches insect worlds, with a current focus on firebugs. Key interests in her research are the empathetic engagement through images creative processes.