ant hills and self-recognition
I feel more and more like an ant. Completing my tasks. lining up behind the other ants to wait for the trains, wait on the highway in traffic, go to work. I move from temporary home to temporary home. I build, I destroy. I keep my head down, I look at the sidewalks. I collect what I find important, stash it in my home, to share. Am I aware of the sparkle these objects possess, do I stop to taste the crumbs?
A study found that ants exposed to a mirror possessed self-recognition. Ants of three species marked with a blue dot tried to clean themselves and touched the mark to try to rub it off. Ants marked with a brown dot, on their brown bodies, did not notice the dot because it blended in. The ants noticed the dots in their mirror reflection and attempted to clean it, which, if true, suggests self-recognition.
Does self-recognition suggest autonomy? In this project, I have been working on making architectural structures that resemble mini temporary homes and anthills, and include blue dots. While still in process, I want to use these to explore various landscapes, scale, and things that go unnoticed, and how to force recognition, whether that is through a mirror or other ways.
