A mesmerising confluence of biology, aesthetics and filmmaking, the ingenious nature photography of Dennis Hlynsky, professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, condenses frames of footage to reveal marvellous patterns in the activities of small creatures. The occasionally eerie effect shows the appearance of intricate trails in the wakes of insects and birds. Works of art in their own right, the clips also double as small-scale investigations into animal movement patterns and flock behaviour.
Director: Dennis Hlynsky
Website: Imagine Science Films
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoHistory of science
Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful
8 minutes
videoNature and landscape
After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint
15 minutes
videoArt
A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea
7 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
Join endangered whooping cranes on their perilous migratory path over North America
6 minutes
videoArt
Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus
8 minutes
videoFilm and visual culture
Space and time expand, contract and combust in this propulsive animation
5 minutes
videoEnvironmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
videoArt
When East met West in the images of an overlooked, original photographer
9 minutes