Cephalonia Worm Art Works

As part of a workshop at the Ionion Art Center in Greece on bio art, I had the pleasure to show 5 artists how to create worm art paintings. These are their works and the videos.

Humans are probably the most invasive and damaging animal species to our planet’s ecology currently. One such development is the creation of poor soil fertility by the killing of earthworms indirectly from the toxic chemicals (e.g.: fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides) farmers use regularly on their crops to increase yields and the marketability of their products. This diminishes soil fertility thus forcing farmers to use fertilizers.

The goal of this ecological art project is to increase the awareness of the public to the ecological cost of perfect-looking vegetables, fruits, gardens, and lawns. The works begin by painting on canvas relevant symbols or signs. Once these are dry, worms from a compost bucket are gathered washed in warm water, and placed in diluted non-toxic food colorings. They are then put on the canvas and their movements are video recorded. As they move, they leave color traces of their path.

Their avoidance of the toxic chemical area is also visible. After they move off the paper, they are washed and returned to the compost bin unharmed