Pestival

It’s called ” Pestival A Festival of Insects in Art” and as crazy as it sounds–it works! It’s an examination, in the nicest possible way, of how insects shape our world and how humans shape the world of insects. There is art, music, food, activities, lectures and lots more. (Pics)

First off, the termite pavilion. It’s a walk-in structure made out of 51 layers of laminated timber, inspired by the organic formation of a Namibian termite mound and based on a computer generated model.

Once inside, there are recordings of the sounds from inside a termite mound and lighting that dims and brightens to represent breathing. Made of sustainable Austrian spruce, it’s a collaboration between artists and scientists.

Other art across the site includes “The Horned Skullship”…using the body of insects, plant roots and other found natural bits and pieces, the artist has created a nightmare-ish object hanging in a hut. Very scary. She says that “these creatures acknowledge the nastier side of childhood imagination, the antithesis of the Victorian notions of fantasy they seem to emulate.” And she’s right.

This steamed wood play structure was a big hit.

Add to this insect identifications, hanging human sized butterfly chrysalises, lectures on bio-design, termite technology, music, films such as The Hellstrom Chronicle, a bee social and an insect museum and you begin to get the picture of this wild and wacky weekend. : Pestival

Via Treehugger