September 26, 2000 – November 29, 2000 Suzanne Stryk Natural Domain Series

While we stake our claim on the earth, mapping and describing territory in human terms of ownership and use, rarely do we think of the creatures and plants that also claim territories. They too own the earth, their ancient life cycles connected to the minute differences in terrain, climate, and soil type.

Insects interest me because of their strange yet familiar forms, distinct from yet so connected to the human world. Ever since I came to the Appalachian region I've been struck by the jewel-like beauty of the common green June beetles invading our summer lawns and fields in their humming droves, and awed by the unique variation of each beetle. And in May of 1995 I witnessed a most remarkable event of thousands of 13-year cicadas emerging from the earth to mate, in an area that on the map was at one time intended to be flooded. Such experiences of both place and animal life are the source of the Natural Domain Series.

The topographical map with all its intricate contour lines fascinates me because it represents both our wish to control nature and our desire to understand it. Using such maps with the insects I find within their domains fulfills my wish to explore my earthly surroundings, and discover the other lives that share our planet.
--Suzanne Stryk