What question did this study set out to answer?

This work aims to explore the effects of artificial light on animal ecosystems through artistic methods.

July 17, 20260 citations

Fireflies: Whose Vision Counts?

Key Points

This work aims to explore the effects of artificial light on animal ecosystems through artistic methods.
Developed immersive experiences contrasting human and firefly vision.
Utilized advanced tools like micro-cameras and fulldome technology for capturing and presenting animal perception.
Engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers to enhance conceptual and aesthetic aspects of the artwork.
Demonstrated new artistic methods that challenge norms and connect nature with technology.
Highlighted the evolution of documentary formats through immersive experiences in uncommon venues.
Showed the importance of integrating high-tech tools in artistic practices to inform and engage scientific research.

Abstract

Encounters with biologist Kevin Gaston’s "Ecolight" project—investigating the impact of artificial light on animal ecosystems, and Professor Dan-E. Nilsson’s research into the evolution of animal vision have significantly informed my artistic practice, particularly in the development of Fireflies. Nilsson’s work in computational visual ecology offers speculative insights into how animal behaviours may shift under conditions of light pollution. Complementary to this, Daniel Hanley’s hardware and software tools for translating animal vision into human-perceivable formats further deepen the conceptual and aesthetic grounding of the project .Collaborations with ophthalmologists at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet, especially around human photoreceptors and scotopic vision, introduced the temporal concept of a 24-minute duration—the time required for human eyes to fully adapt to darkness—into the piece. These interdisciplinary dialogues foreground a key question at the core of the segment "Fireflies: whose vision counts?"Fireflies contrasts human sight with that of fireflies, creating an immersive experience from both perspectives.My practice-based approach has several implications, which are partially exposed in this paper:• Exploring new artistic methods that challenge norms, align with eco-narratives, and bring nature and technology closer together.• Using advanced tools in fulldome and 360° in documentary-making.• Bridging to industry through hardware like the Sony A6400 micro-camera (developed by Daniel Hanley) to capture animal tetrachromatic vision. Other tools include Anamorph software to pre-visualize the future (will be used in the VR version) and the Red Raptor cameras and lenses for dome-compatible footage.• Demonstrating how multimedia can broaden documentary formats, enabling uncommon venues for exhibition and distribution: i.e. domes, cinemas, and museums.• Contributing to documentary evolution through a speculative, “living documentary” framework (will be true in the VR version, which is not analysed here).To balance human and more-than-human perspectives, I rely on high-tech tools, allowing art to both utilize and inform science and technology, engaging researchers in unfamiliar, creative contexts. keywords: fireflies, animal vision, bioluminescence, artwork, artistic research, sensory ecology, creative ecologies, film-making, photography

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