An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’

The US artist Catherine Chalmers creates work at the intersection of nature and culture, often centring on humanity’s complicated relationship with the insect world. Antworks is a unique artistic collaboration between Chalmers and a colony of leafcutter ants found on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. For the short film, Chalmers captured these ants cutting, stripping and carrying leaves from a colourful plant that she had set them upon. Per Chalmers, these resulting leaf fragments looked like ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’ once separated from their source. The resulting short is an amusing, strangely riveting contemplation of the minds – and perhaps even aesthetic sensibilities – of these fascinating creatures.

Via Kottke