Bee Tongue by Shoshanah Dubiner, 2016, gouache on paper

As an interdisciplinary artist, my work has evolved over time. The majority of my work focuses on the 
environment, nature or natural elements in the environment. My work also explores connections; 
connections between the natural world and the human body, connections in the environment and the human-to-human 
connection through the use of various technologies. Through this exploration, much of my work takes aspects 
of nature, science, or society that might typically be unseen by the human eye and brings these aspects into 
the normal visual plane. 

"PerchBerry" captures unique aspects of the natural world that also happen to be what sustains us, our food. By seeing these aspects in a new way and with a different perspective, new connections can be made and an enhanced appreciation or awareness can be achieved.


Butterfly Tongue by Shoshanah Dubiner, 2016, gouache on paper

Pollinators such as bees and butterflies eat the nectar and pollen of flowers. Both the bee's and the butterfly's straw-like proboscis suck up flower nectar while pollen grains stick to the bee's hairs and the butterfly's scales. The insects carry the pollen from flower to flower and thus help initiate the process of pollination and fruit production. Their activity as EATERS coincides with their activity as POLLINATORS of plants that produce a large percentage of humanity's foods. 

Today, the decline in bee and butterfly populations is posing serious problems for food production. These two paintings are part of a series of six paintings that honor the tiny pollinators in the human food chain. Tiny creatures are beautiful, tiny creatures matter!! The paintings are installed in the Food Forest at The Farm at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, and were created under a grant from the Haines & Friends Foundation.