Audrey Kali shares her compassion for critters
- Alexis Schlesinger
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
By Alexis Schlesinger
Editorial Staff
If a mosquito landed on Audrey Kali, she said she wouldn’t kill it. In fact, she believes that insects have more in common with humans than we think.
Kali led an artist’s talk in the Ecumenical Center Sept. 16 to speak about her exhibition currently on display in the Mazmanian Gallery, “Existential Bugs: A Crisis of Compassion, Conscience, and Creativity.”
During the event, Kali, a professor of Communication, Media, and Performance, spoke about the connection of art and science. She said her work aims to inform people about the anthropomorphism of insects.
According to Kali, anthropomorphism is attributing human characteristics to non-human creatures.
She said recognizing insects as individuals will help people feel less afraid of creatures that look different from them.
“It’s important to just be curious about the world around you,” Kali said.
She said her project began approximately eight years ago when she began photographing flowers in her backyard.
After seeing an insect in her garden, she photographed it using a macro-lens. She said she was "surprised it had a face.”
Kali said she aims to destigmatize insects and their behavior through her photography.
Many public assumptions about bugs are based on “hostile images in pop culture,” she said.
In her artist’s statement, Kali said the purpose of her work “strives to engage a viewer's empathy,” as well as “awaken a viewer’s fascination and awe.”
Kali said the movie “Infestation” is an example of media portraying insects as creatures to be afraid of.
She said this type of media is a factor in society’s fear of insects.
When presenting her photos to the audience, Kali explained what the insects were, and how to identify if they were truly “harmful.” She described many of them as “beautiful” or “cute.”
Kali said she doesn’t like that comparisons to bugs always mean something negative, such as being “ugly” or “scary.”
“Most people are offended when they get compared to an insect,” she said, “If someone called me a bug, I would say thank you!”
Kali added she has been curious about nature since she was young.
“In all things of nature there is something marvelous,” she said, a quote originally written by Greek philosopher, Aristotle.
“This is something I have felt even as a child,” she said.
As a science communicator, she photographs insects and learns about their roles in the ecosystem, she said.
“All scientists need to be artists, and all artists need to be scientists,” she said.
In her artist’s statement, Kali said, “The art of photography is essential for the public understanding of science, and macrophotography can work in dispelling fears and phobias about what we conversationally call bugs.”
While comparing her raw versus edited images during her presentation, Kali explained how important the editing process is to her goals with her exhibition.
Kali said she shoots with specific camera settings in order to capture light only on the insects, to make them “pop out.”
Aside from that, the editing process is where most of the work comes in to create the effect of the anthropomorphism of insects she aims to achieve, she said.
Kali explained she crops her photos much tighter toward the insects and will adjust colors to create a more contrasted effect between the insect and the background.
She said she prefers to include vignettes in most of her photographs to create a circular shadow effect around the frame.
Kali said she also uses artificial intelligence in her editing to enhance small details, or sharpen an image. However, she would never use editing software to add, remove, or alter the subjects of her photographs.
In response to a question asked by junior Paige Rainville, Kali stated she never noticed the effects of "artificial artifacts” in her photographs after editing. Rainville described artificial artifacts as “blobs of color rather than straight lines” that occur after using artificial intelligence during photo editing.
When asked by sophomore Io Phillips what her favorite insect to photograph was, Kali responded: “I love wasps. Especially parasitic wasps - the ones that lay eggs in other insects and eat them from the inside.”
English professor Lisa Eck said she was very moved by her photographs and presentation.
