Risograph print.
In Risobook 2: Future Conditional Published by The Holodeck, 2019
Woodlice accidentally became inhabitants of an installation I made at university during my Silverhouses project featuring soil and plants, throughout which they lived in a plant pot - and were safely returned home afterwards. They explored my work and I filmed them and drew their portraits. I learnt so much more about them, finding many points of similarity in our experiences of life, for instance; young woodlice stay with their parents for a period comparable to humans.
Human and woodlouse cultural relations have existed for many human generations and is evidenced in all the regional names they have been given. In the West Midlands it is 'crunchy bat'! Which might reflect their hard skin and fear of light, which means they like dark places - like plant pots! They are also nicknamed 'garden lobsters', hence the pink colouring in this risoprint.
Huge thanks to The Holodeck for selecting this work for their fabulous publication.
Date: 30/11/2019