I N V O C A T I O N S
'Invocations' is an exploration of a series of particular encounter between humans and insects, moths are the protagonists but by no means the only non-human characters in these invocations. Bats, mayflies and old men orbit the moth trap light spaces and ,in their way, tell the story of moths.
This work is an invitation o inhabit and imagine a shared space between humans and moths, to access new realities.
It proposes that imagining other forms / conditions / expressions of life, alongside considering ourselves not as mere external observers, but as part of the same plane of existence and experience, are important parts of facing the joy and grief of reality in the anthropocene.
It is also a journey to understand what non-scientific enquiry means in scientific contexts. In ‘Invocations’, Catarina Fontoura attended and photographed moth monitoring meet ups in England and Wales, for over two year years. As non-scientist in the field, she becomes at ease with being seen as an undecipherable participant, running and danding with moths in the night.
Moths are an indicator species, their distribution and numbers are undeniable evidence of dangerous heating up of our climate, of ecological collapse and loss of biodiversity. ‘Invocations’ enquires what imapct listening to the moths may have as we face the violent environmental changes of our lifetimes.
