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Brandon shows his findings

Beer or Beetles?

It's Saturday evening and while most of my friends are set for a night in the pub I have convinced one of them to join me on an outing to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) for a night of not booze, but bugs.

I have no idea what to expect from tonight. All I know is that for the past two months there has been a man living at the YSP, working in his very own lab. From the small amount of information I have, I know this man is an eco-artist who has been examining the insect and amphibian life in the Park. Interesting, I know, but even more intriguing is his creation, The Love Motel, and I must admit it's this and this only that has kept me from the pub.

The artist is Brandon Ballengée and tonight is his last evening as resident at the YSP. I feel rather privileged as I've been invited to attend the event, meant for staff only, to hear Brandon speak about his recent project at the Park. I'll also be tagging along on a guided tour of the YSP to discover the nightlife on offer and hear what it's all about from someone who can be described as a bit of a bug expert.Ìý

Well prepared for the evening

The night begins in the Camelia House, a huge glass-roofed building that provides a really nice setting. As I approach I notice a bright light, this is squint bright, a full-on interrogation beam. Clambering up the stairs to the entrance, I try to avoid a direct gaze with what, at closer inspection, looks like a small version of the sun. The huge light is there to attract insects but has the opposite effect on me so I quickly run inside.

Once in the building I instantly regret my move and wish I had stayed out to burn in the mini sun's rays. Instantly frozen, I hear a very loud noise that belongs to one of two things, a bee or a wasp. The thought of seeing either of them is enough to have me planning my escape. Wiping sweat from my brow I look for an exit. The noise is so loud it implies either one huge bee/wasp or lots of them, a group, no, a gang of bee/wasps. My friend, utterly amused at the situation, points out that the noise is not coming from Brandon's work but is coming from the speakers right in front of me.

I calm down and sit to listen to Brandon speak to the group. He tells us that we will go out to view the insects and amphibians within the YSP and take a walk down to the Love Motel. Already my imagination is running wild. A Love Motel for bugs? No man should be allowed to ponder such a thought! I begin to day dream about what a Love Motel for bugs might look like but before slipping off into a world of insect Hiltons I approach Brandon for a chat about his work.Ìý

The Lab

With very little information about what exactly it is Brandon has been doing at the YSP, I start by asking him to explain: "There is a laboratory I set up. The lab was a full-on functioning biology lab where I was doing experimentation looking at what can cause deformity in amphibians...Amphibians are a super-important group of animals that are basically really good bio indicators". For the 'common man' this means looking at the deformities in frogs, toads and newts to get an idea of what is happening in the surrounding environment.

I failed to see anything

Brandon also applies this method to insects, telling me: "The insects that are flying around tell us a story about what is going on with the environment...Certain species can tell you if there is clean water nearby. It's a good way to learn about the landscape by the type of species that are around".

I'm interested in what Brandon has discovered while working at the Park. He tells me that without more research the evidence is, at the moment, inconclusive. He explains: "The one thing that the lab really did was open up a door for lots more questions. I realised that lots more study needs to go into it. That's one of the things I encourage people to do, go out and look at their wetlands and help to see if deformities are out there".

How is this Art?

Now, I know what all of you are thinking. At this point in the interview, I assure you, I was sharing the same thought. Just how does this constitute art and what's the deal with the Love Motel? It's simple - as well as being at the Park to study the inhabitants, Brandon takes his findings and presents them in very visually appealing way. He tells me that he has taken around 9000 photos during his stay. Many of the photos, consisting mainly of deformed amphibians, are what allow him to present his biological studies as art.

Brandon's clearing and stain technique

Through a process called clearing and staining, Brandon creates vivid, obscure images that have an aesthetic appeal. He tells me: "It's a way you can make a whole preserved specimen completely transparent. Then you dye certain bones and tissues. The colours are really beautiful, it's intense, and the palette is one of the first things that attracted me to the process". This is certainly visually appealing. Brandon explains that as well as being a tool for art it is also a good way to map the evolutionary development of the amphibians he uses. This really is an art-science crossover.

The Love Motel

By now I'm itching to know more about the Love Motel. My imagination is running wild with the idea. So far I have a beetle bell boy and an entire hotel complex catering solely for insects. 'Bug Baths', a 'Spider Saloon' and the 'Insect-in-a-Rock-cafe'. For some reason, I can't stop creating these crazy bug-themed rooms. My imaginary Bug Motel is already busy, filled with an array of bugs. But for fear of what may happen at my beautifully crafted Insect Inn, I'm yet to add the imaginary love.

I snap out of my bug trance and before I have time to compose myself I'm straight into listening to Brandon explain the Love Motel: "It's a series of outdoor sculptural installations that I started in tropical environments a few years ago. They are to study insect diversity. I use ultraviolet light reflected from a white poly cotton mix of fabrics so the light just bounces around all over the place. The insects are attracted to that light. They stay there and these become temporary micro-habitats for them to find each other, mate, breed and congregate".

Inspired by the technology created to frighten, and in some cases kill, insects using light and sound, Brandon took this and created a way to attract bugs rather than repel them. As we group together to set off into the dark and examine some of the species Brandon has been talking about, I can't stop reverting to the idea of a Love Motel for bugs. Two words keep coming to mind: one is 'insect' and the other rhymes with 'corn'.

People wait for a room at the Motel

The Breakaway

There is a big group of people as we make our way through the park. I've bagged a lantern but it doesn't seem to give off much light so I slipstream someone with a torch. We come to a pond and everyone has a look at the amphibians. I fail to see anything but, to be honest, I'm a little distracted as to what's happening. I just want to see the Love Motel. After stopping at a few locations I notice two ladies leaving the pack and enquire as to where they're going. To my delight they share my curiosity concerning the Motel and are slipping off to go and find it.

Ryan chats up a moth at the Love Motel.

We trudge through the mud in the direction of the Motel. As the trees thicken and the lights fade I can see a faint purple glow coming from deep within the woods. I'm getting really excited now. The trees part, the glow increases and there it is, the much anticipated Love Motel. The large installation looks like it should have landed at Roswell and certainly doesn't resemble the lavish bug suites I imagined. Unfazed by this I head for a closer look.

Once in the Motel I can see numerous insects on the wall. This is the 'micro-habitat' Brandon talked about. From big bugs to the tiny ones they all have a place to stay in the Love Motel. Although the interior is not what I expected I can't help staring at the insects as they flock to the dazzling ultraviolet lights. I love anything different, anything that is a bit far out, and this is both these things rolled into one.

Brandon's use of the Love Motel and his clearing and staining techniques help to capture viewers' imaginations, focusing their attention on things that would otherwise go unnoticed. He tells me: "The human effect on the planet is vast. I really think that we are living in a post-natural world. Climate change is really an important issue and I think the environmental movement is going on strong. We just have to keep working at it to make things better". By presenting his biological research in a way that is pleasing on the eye and by inviting people to attend his lab, Brandon is strengthening the environmental cause. He is making issues accessible through art and this is highly commendable.

Adoption

Before leaving for the car park I want to say, 'Bye' to Brandon so I head back to Camelia House. Avoiding a direct gaze with the mini-sun for the last time, I find the man of the evening and thank him for his time. It's at this point he asks me if I would like to adopt a mealworm. I have no idea what a mealworm is but tell him that as long as there's no lengthy adoption procedures I'm in.

Ryan adopts a mealworm.

By now I like Brandon and if the Love Motel has created illegitimate offspring, I'm happy to offer one a home. I'm given my mealworm in a little container with an adoption certificate and instruction to watch it grow. It will apparently develop into a beetle before my very eyes. As Brandon puts it: "They're very huggable, in an arthropodic kind of way..."

Picture of Brandon and his jar of frogs, the Love Motel and Brandon's stained frog © Jonty Wilde / Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Used with permission.