Inventions & Discoveries: Divine Messages

Is Leal the interlocutor for these tiny creatures translating for the maker who has left its mark and moved on?

In the Entomographic series, you discover Leal’s multi-layered transformations from the seemingly simple starting point of the bored stick.

In his Abyssalia series, using the densely rich silk Mezzotint process, Leal furthers his dive into a poetic language of the rarely seen.

These images capture a picture frame of floating translucent forms and we suspect that Leal will continue to translate for these deep dwellers or migrant insect truth tellers.

Computing pioneer Richard W Hamming said “The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.”

While data can contribute statistical information, which will lead to the betterment of society, it can also be used to re-contextualize information in suspicious ways.

Interestingly the need for data collection could be found as early as 18,000 BCE when records were notched into bone or sticks.

Linda Vallejo tells a different story.

As Margaret Arnold wrote in LA Art News “Linda Vallejo’s “The Brown Dot Project” puts a human face on data.”

Vallejo combines representation and abstraction in this body of her work.

“The visual appeal of each pattern collides skillfully with the statistical backstory – transporting the viewer from abstraction to the realm of activist art reality.”

Are we startled by these numbers?

Will we mobilize to counter inequities and think twice when we pass people on the street?