Keeping the theme around flowers, pesticides, and agriculture this year I started a small etching, which was supposed to be a study for a larger print of mine, but it turned out so nice, so I decided to make it into an edition.

The etching is part of a series — “Flores Muertas.” It depicts the loss of habitat through human intervention and the harmful effects of pesticides and monocultures used in agriculture and in the flower production industry, which pollute and deplete nearby streams, ground water, and our food supply chain.

The pesticide Imidacloprid, which is produced by the pharmaceutical company Bayer, is in the family of neonicotinoids and is believed to be one of the causes for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) amongst bees. Both France in 2000 and Germany in 2008 have banned the pesticide from the market. Other European countries have followed. In this etching the bees are placed against a ‘beehive-like’ surface, which is composed of the molecule structure of the chemical Imidacloprid .

Imidacloprid
Hardground Etching
Chine-Collé (with Cirrus White) on Nepal Chautara Lokta, Mustard
6.5 x 10 inches
2010
ed. 20