Air Ballet

Air Ballet is about the flying insects in my suburban garden. I recorded video of insects at high frame rates so that I could slow them down smoothly, letting us appreciate the graceful movement of bees, moths, and butterflies. I go from moments like these to ones where the insects appear more excited, flitting about at their normal, busy speed and sometimes appearing to act goofy, clumsy, or aggressive, culminating in a quiet dramatic moment before the final scene. The audio contains some of the natural sound of this environment, from close-up bee buzzing to distant neighborhood noises, as well as more abstract, pitched sonic textures that support the emotional import of the images. The video unfolds as a narrative of the insects’ social interaction and participation in an ecosystem.

Most of the plants in the garden are native to the eastern United States, so they attract the native pollinators that are under threat from pesticides and climate change. I want to foster an appreciation for the symbiotic relationship between these living beings, which have evolved to depend on each other. I hope this will encourage people to contemplate their own local environment and do what they can to support the flora and fauna inhabiting it.