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Christine Keller wants people to think about the plight of insects.
The Dunedin artist’s latest work at the Community Gallery in Princes St is a piece designed using a digital weaving machine which depicts insects’ decline in numbers over the past century.
Climate change was the biggest factor in the decline, Ms Keller said.
‘‘They are really at the bottom of the food chain and they are our pollinators.
‘‘So, if we lose the pollinators and if we lose the insects, then we are lost. In a way, I think we need to just start taking notice of them.’’
The piece is Jacquard woven and took more than two months to put together.
‘‘I think it’s an artwork that you can read quite easily when you just look at it.
‘‘I really hope that it visualises for people how urgent it is to kind of work on climate change.’’
Her father was also a keen amateur artist and she borrowed from his depiction of certain insects.
‘‘I took the six drawings of my dad and I turned them into the repeat pattern.
‘‘Because I’m a textile designer and artist, I’m interested in those historic textiles and patterns. And so it was like those drawings came together.’’
She described the work as a ‘‘personal memory story’’.
‘‘When I started the work, I did not know the numbers of decline. I was actually quite shocked and sad when I saw those numbers.’’
There were many ways to improve the insect population, she said.
‘‘I think that everybody needs to stop buying so much plastic, using so much pesticides or fly sprays or whatever.
‘‘I think that we need to protect our country, particularly Crown land and the national parks.
‘‘I mean, we all know that there are things we need to change in our lives.
‘‘I think if you look at this work, it might be another little reminder that we just need to start. We need to stop waiting for the action.’’