Calgary visual artist Julya Hajnoczky was commissioned by The Underwing to create four large portraits using specimens scanned from U of G’s insect collection
A Calgary artist whose work is featured in this month’s National Geographic magazine is also getting recognition for her contribution to a new Cambridge night spot.
Artist Julya Hajnoczky photographs insects and other specimens in natural and hand-made environments and was commissioned to create four pieces for The Underwing, a speakeasy in the Gaslight District on Grand Avenue.
The Underwing is named after a family of brown moths that have bold, often brightly coloured, stripes on their underwings.
Hajnoczky spent a week in Cambridge last spring to create the pieces, but because the moths were not out yet and still in caterpillar phase, she was referred to U of G’s Insect Collection.
She was able to scan dozens of underwing moth specimens so she could add these to plant photos she took during the same visit.
The portraits “allow the viewer to see these fascinating specimens in extraordinary detail,” Hanjoczky said in an email.
The four pieces that now hang in The Underwing are some of the largest prints she’s ever made, at 74 inches tall and 44 inches wide.
“It was amazing to have access to the U of G’s collection,” Hajnoczky told the U of G in an email.
“One of the moths that I scanned had been collected in 1896 (!!) and now is back out and appearing in the world again in this artwork. I thought that was really cool, and highlights the value and importance of these scientific collections.”
Anyone who wants to check out Hajnoczky’s work can see it in Nat Geo’s article Saving the Monarchs.
The artist wrote about it in a post to Instagram, saying “It’s such an honour to have my work published among so many incredibly talented photographers, to find myself in the company of those who dedicate their careers to sharing the incredible wonders of the natural world with readers around the globe, and the importance of doing everything we can to take care of all the living things that we share this planet with.”
