Work by Hubert Duprat and the Caddisfly
Photos Jean-Luc Fournier. Courtesy Art:concept, Paris, and Zero Gallery, Milan.
Having been in the past a naturalist he knew that the larvae are remarkably adaptable: if other suitable materials are introduced into their environment, they will often incorporate those as well. So in the early eighties he started to collect the larvae from their normal environments and took them to his studio. There he gently removed their own natural cases and put them in tanks filled with his own materials, from which they began to build their new protective sheaths. When he began the project, he only provided the caddis larvae with gold flakes. Since then, the larvae have enjoyed various semi-precious and precious stones, including turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, as well as sapphires, pearls, rubies, and diamonds.
Is the precious case the work of the insect or the work of the artist? Did the caddis larva owe nothing to the artist (who is simply the author of one noise among the thousands of other noises in its environment) or is the caddis worm merely the executor of the artist’s project?