Mark Oliver

At first glance, these bold insect forms offer a collective illusion firmly grounded in the Victorian tradition of insect collection. This appearance of genuine artefact is problematised upon closer study - as the collage of pre-used materials (letters, maps, tickets, dismantled clockworks, etc.) offer precious narrative and historical significance beyond their valuable textural or aesthetic qualities.

My work creatively employs inorganic 'found' items - the decayed, oily, burnt, torn, broken - to mimic delicate, organic forms, which (if genuine) might, themselves, employ the instinct of mimicry or disguise.

Objects we throw away today are left to rot and rust, they get stained, burnt and soon start to change their appearance as they try to return to nature.

When displayed in a case, the complex, symmetrical beauty of the insect form urges closer inspection. And that close scrutiny delivers an insight into the wonder of ‘Litter Bugs’.