PAULA HUMBERG

WORKS
  • Dispersal
  • Causes of Death
  • Side Catch
  • Phenotype
  • Outskirts
  • Vegetation Zone
  • Pinhole works
TRAVELS
  • Africa
  • Europe
  • ABOUT

Dispersal is a photographic series and bioart project that visualises the effects of pollinator decline and climate change.

The project was done at Zackenberg research station in Greenland in 2018 where I collaborated with biologist Riikka Kaartinen. The title of the series refers to the spread of pollen, which often happens with the help of pollinating animals. In Greenland only two bumblebee species live naturally, and in the absence of bees, muscid flies are the most important pollinators. Biologists at Zackenberg have followed their numbers over a few decades, and the collected data shows that the abundance of muscid flies has decreased by up to 80% during this period. Climate change is considered to be the likely main cause.

I created an experiment to study how the amount of pollinating flies affects pollen dispersal. Fluorescent pigment was used to dye the pollen of the mountain avens (Dryas octopetala), which is a keystone species in Greenland. Selected avens patches were covered with isolation tents and fluorescent pigment was put on 20% of the flowers in each patch. The patches were photographed under ultraviolet light right after adding the pigment and then covered with tents. Pollinators were released inside. There were two compositions: The A tents had 13 pollinators in total, including 10 muscid flies The B groups were otherwise similar but had only 2 muscid flies. The insects were collected after 72 hours and photographs of the flower patches were taken again to record the results.

The effects of climate change are more marked in Arctic areas where climate is warming faster and the ecological communities are simpler and, thus, more vulnerable. The decline of muscid flies could further threaten the whole ecosystem. The series includes 4 image pairs that were photographed under ultraviolet light, 3 other photographs taken in Zackenberg and a collection of pollinators that were used for the test.

Slot_A1_0h

Slot A1 at 0h
2018
Diasec / 30cm x 40cm

Slot_A1_72h

Slot A1 at 72h
2018
Diasec / 50cm x 67cm

Slot_A2_0h

Slot A2 at 0h
2018
Diasec / 30cm x 40cm

Slot_A2_72h

Slot A2 at 72h
2018
Diasec / 50cm x 67cm

Isolation_Tents

Isolation Tents
2018
Pigment print / 30cm x 45cm

Delayed_Snowmelt

Delayed Snowmelt
2018
Pigment print / 30cm x 45cm

Slot_B1_0h

Slot B1 at 0h
2018
Diasec / 30cm x 40cm

Slot_B1_72h

Slot B1 at 72h
2018
Diasec / 50cm x 67cm

Slot_B2_0h

Slot B2 at 0h
2018
Diasec / 30cm x 40cm

Slot_B2_72h

Slot B2 at 72h
2018
Diasec / 50cm x 67cm

Dryas_octopetala

Dryas octopelata
2018
Pigment print / 22.5cm x 30cm

laatikko_D4_0546

Test Assemblages
2020
insects, insect pins, foam rubber, frame
22cm x 30cm