insects

  • The hive mind of an ant superorganism

    contemporary art insects ant superorganism

    Superorganism of ants or the ants’ hive mind

    Digital image May 2022

    An image of a swarm of ants forming the shape of one giant ant.
    The image is intended to convey the scientific concept of the superorganism, where the individual members of an animal community (often insects such as bees, wasps or ants) cannot exist as individuals but have to function as part of a larger unified communal entity.

    The concept of the superorganism is similar to the concept of the hive mind. The hive mind is perhaps more closely identified with neural activity rather than physical activity, and in human society is associated with the concepts of collective consciousness, group think and other thought processes. Hive mind activities such as group think are not necessarily positive.

    contemporary art insects ant superorganism

    The work reflects my interest in science, evolution, the natural world and the environment. It is based on a conncept and image that I created in the 1990s for the Guardian newspaper.

    contemporary art insects ant superorganism

    Some people argue that human society is a superorganism, generally on the grounds that we live in an incredibly complex society that is full of specialisation of roles, and that society would fall apart if some of these roles were to fail to function. This definition however doesn’t take into account one of the prerequisites of a superorganism, which is that the individual organisms within the superorganism can’t survive alone. Humans can easily survive even if our complex society collapses – there are people all around the world doing that very thing right now.

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  • Ants in art – contemporary art and science

    Contemporary art and science - ants and insects as a superorganism

    Contemporary art and science – ants as a superorganism

    Artist’s impression for a gallery installation. January 2020. Based on a work from 1990

    A proposed artwork showing ants crawling across an art gallery wall, with the ants grouping together and coalescing into the form of a single gigantic ant.
    The artwork depicts the concept of the superorganism, in which multiple individual organisms of the same species (in this case ants) interact by a process of synergy to give rise to a collective body that can operate in ways that the individuals can’t. The individual organisms within the superorganism usually display a degree of division of labour or specialisatoin of function, meaning that the individual organisms can’t survive for long on their own. Human civilisation is often defined as a form of superorganism, although this isn’t strictly accurate, as humans can survive alone.

    Contemporary art and science - ants and insects as a superorganism

    The work has coincidental similarities to House Taken by Rafael Gomezbarros. My concept predates that of Gomezbarros, as mine was originally executed in the 1990s as an illustration for an article in the Guardian newspaper, while Gomezbarros’s  work was created in the 2000’s (as far as I can tell).

    The ants in the work may be two dimensional, such as in a mural, or three dimensional such as in a sculptural work.

    Contemporary art ants

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