A French born artist in the mid twentieth century, Hubert Duprat began working with caddisfly larvae in the 1980's. Duprat was a naturalist even in his younger years however his understanding of caddisfly larvae was primarily derived from it's use as a fishing lure. As a spectator watching the panning of gold in southwestern France, Duprat began to see the caddisfly larvae as a medium for art.
The larvae of the caddisfly is aquatic and within it's natural environment it utilizes any small available resources to form a silk laden cocoon sheath for it's own protection. Understanding these habits, Duprat removes caddisfly larvae from it's natural environment and places them in a controlled aquarium. Within this new habitat the artist places flakes of gold and semi-precious stones such as turquoise, rubies and pearls. The larvae will use these fragments of luxury, combined with secreted silk, to create sculptures in which Duprat is notorious. These sculptures can remain stationary as pieces of art but have also been used to create unique pieces of jewelry.
The larvae of the caddisfly is aquatic and within it's natural environment it utilizes any small available resources to form a silk laden cocoon sheath for it's own protection. Understanding these habits, Duprat removes caddisfly larvae from it's natural environment and places them in a controlled aquarium. Within this new habitat the artist places flakes of gold and semi-precious stones such as turquoise, rubies and pearls. The larvae will use these fragments of luxury, combined with secreted silk, to create sculptures in which Duprat is notorious. These sculptures can remain stationary as pieces of art but have also been used to create unique pieces of jewelry.
Our culture, in the late twentieth and into the twenty-first century, had surrounded monetary value whether or not it's something we as a populace would like to admit. Economics have driven government and personal gain for some time and it has been imbedded into our culture for centuries. This is not necessarily an ideology America is known for more than any other nation in this time and age. Duprat takes something that is completely natural and incorporates it into a world that is fictionalized. Obviously insects have no concept of monetary value or the rarity of precious stones but by placing two opposites together the concept can symbolize the desire for wealth is tromped by the necessity to protect life. By creating this piece Duprat had a goal in mind, to open the viewpoints of natural and technological and as he saw it, to follow in the footsteps of nineteenth century entomologists François-Jules Pictet and Jean-Henri Fabre.