Valeda (169) — Bohuš Blahut
Artist
Bohuš Blahut (Younger than my tongue, older than my teeth)
Materials Used
Anatomy book pages, Acrylic paint, decoupage medium
Your website or social media
Describe your bug and its beauty
The inside is now outside, familiar yet unfamiliar, unexpectedly playful.
The cicada is alarmingly large, yet harmless. It is clad mostly in a soothing cerulean blue. A closer look reveals a mottled layer of a darker texture. What at first appear to be unusual markings resolve into human organs and bones. There is an an orderly symmetry, and yet the organs are very much out of order; exposed blood vessels and tissues, a pink lung complimenting the leading edge of the wing, and a human rib cage broadly and prominently splayed across the back. This familiar and unsettling anatomical imagery is reduced to mere shapes and colors now as the patterning on this unusually large blue cicada.
How long do you think you took decorating your bug?
25+ hours
Tell us your Story
The cicadas emerging this year last visited us 17 years ago. What kind of change have you seen in your city, yourself, or someone you know over the last 17 years?
In recent years as we all faced a worldwide health calamity, it was both encouraging and heartbreaking to see how the entirely of human people changed and have not changed. While many people became acquainted with kindness and compassion, others retreated into their baser selves becoming suspicious and solitary. It is in crisis we often show our true colors, we find our bottom line. We saw privileged glimpses of generosity, fraternity, and empathy, but we also suffered anger, isolation, and weaponized stupidity. Coinciding with the planet wide pandemic, I had a number of family health crises to also contend with. Even years after being turned inside out, it feels like the pieces never came back together in quite the same way.
Location
Berwyn Public Library, 2701 S Harlem Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402 — Inside the building, past the reference desk — Map