‘Inter-species communication’

“Green Moth Observing Herself” (oil on paper, wire, clay, gouache, mirror), by western Massachusetts-based multimedia artist Ashley Eliza Williams, at MCLA Gallery 51, North Adams, Mass.

Ms. Williams writes:

“I am driven by a deep sense of wonder and curiosity about the non-human world. When I was a child I was extremely shy and I dreamed of being able to express myself with bioluminescence, or by quietly passing information through a network of fungal filaments, instead of with spoken words. These desires evolved into a fascination with alternative languages and non-human methods of connection.

“Today I study the sentience and sensory capabilities of rocks, squids, clouds, and other beings. I aim to weave stories about desire and longing. My work is a series of ‘communication attempts.’ Relationships between paintings and sculptures are inspired by interspecies communication, conversations between living and non-living things, and a desire to mitigate ecological and human loneliness. How fully can we understand a cloud, a tree, or a rock? Can we develop a vocabulary that enables us to do that?’’