The specimens series details the briliance of nature’s engineering, from the homespun – or chewed – layers of paper husk in a hornet’s nest, to the resilient storage architecture of a Sycamore of Sweetgum tree’s seed pod.
The styles include a modern, colorful pop and op art approaches to the subjects with the realistic plus a touch of the surreal. One featured method here with “Specimen B: Sycamore” is using strong color contrast between light wavelengths on the spectrum to create a dimensional stereoptic effect, such that the subject seems to float, and also layering to create a depth ‘stereopticon‘ of combined images.
The subjects are Sycamore, Sweetgum, Honey Locust, Hornet’s nest, Tomatillo husk, Milkweed fluff, and dried Hydrangea. These were all collected naturally as ‘found objects,’ with the exception of the Tomatillo husk, which is a very resilient, protective biomaterial!
Up close one can appreciate their detailed structures, and be inspired to apply biomimicry for a myriad of everyday solutions. That little Sweetgum fruit or seed pod is designed to hold 40-60 chambers for example, and is loaded with seeds. Their forms are so curious, that humans pick them up and spread them around even further. We are a part of nature, of course.
In “Solar Flares” and “Plasma” the Sycamore’s seed pod takes a post-impressionist trip into space and becomes the Sun and its “plasmoid” emission. What’s especially interesting is that the surface texture of the seed pod also resembles the granular surface of the sun. In a way, the sun is shedding energetic seeds of light that propagate life.
“From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.” ~ Aeschylus
On to an especially reality-is-stranger-than-fiction example for biomimicry: The Portuguese Man ‘O War.
Recently I learned that it is not a jellyfish! This brightly colored pink, blue and purple UFO, or unidentified floating object, The Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis), belonging to the class Hydrozoa, is actually a siphonophore composed of specialized, interdependent animals called zooids.
The zooids work together to function as a single unit like a bioship! The ship includes a translucent gas-filled float and long, up to 30 m / 100 ft venomous tentacles. The four distinct types of polyps/zooids are responsible for floating, hunting, eating, and reproduction. I wonder what that first conversation was like: “”Hey, let’s get together and build a deadly seafaring warship!”
I wouldn’t recommend tangling with one of these dangerous sailing bioships; however, like all of nature’s creations, including ourselves, they are loaded with purpose. Even the physaliatoxin it carries in isolation could potentially be effective as a muscle relaxant or even a cancer treatment. That’s not an invitation to go bother them or even breed them – plenty of them wash up on shore – and we now have protein synthesis available to us, which can be based on a very small sample.
Overall, the adorable specimens seen here are also all very resilient in their genius design engineering and adaptations.
Prints of the Specimens series are available on different substrates, such as metal and glass – check out the Shop for different options. Or e-mail for inquiries: sarah.ikerd@studio-shangri-la.com.
Watch the video display:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT9IXCAEQXV/?igsh=MWl4aWQ3MjFtYnI2Yw==