New Forms

This summer the ecosystem where I live has been disrupted by an unexpected explosion of gypsy moth caterpillars. In a matter of weeks their ferocious appetites defoliated the tallest and oldest trees in our neighborhood, dramatically changing the aesthetics of this place. Their cocoons and now dying moth bodies cover the trunks of these trees, trees which have already begun to refoliate – producing a second set of leaves in the same season.

The rapid life cycle of the Gypsy Moth and impact on the surrounding ecosystem reveals the fine line between creation and destruction. What is happening here I find majestical and terrible, sublime and grotesque. Natures and cultures are clashing as the result of climate change and our judgements that define native and invasive species. New forms have emerged and become of our local landscape and soundscape.

July 2021, Leaves eaten by Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

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