Phototextrinum:Weaving Light, Coaxing Death: Randall McGinnis

Event Description

"Thus hath the candle singd the moath."
-William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice

Spiderweb filaments both reflect and refract (the splitting of white light into its color components) light. The exploration of these scientific phenomena is at the heart of Phototextrinum (light weaving). Created using macrophotography, this body of work places the viewer within the realm of the insect. Here, the optical properties of spiderweb silk functionally weave light into a trap that either seeks to attract, like a moth to a candle, or to disorient the insect through vibrant colour. By presenting the spiderweb in a way we do not normally see, Phototextrinum invites the viewer to see past the cliché images of the web, to consider its true function: coaxing death.