In the end, we might need mosquitos to make us feel wanted by the earth. I sent this above WhatsApp-message to my AIRIE residency coordinator while working on location in the Everglades. For almost two years now, my artistic work has focused on wetlands and murky waters such as swamps and bogs. In the old days in Europe, people would leave offerings in these sorts of waters, as the reflections on the surface were seen as a portal to another realm: one of gods, spirits, and the reverence of the unknown. Across the world, through the processes of industry and colonization, wetlands are marginalized, drained, and misused. Places in the wild that are not ready-made for exploitation, like farmlands or fishing grounds, are often seen as a nuisance‚ something useless. Especially if they're not pretty. As the world "progressed" we came at an ever-larger distance from the earth. We homogenize our foods, industries, and, in some cases, even what people can believe in. Like many first-time visitors to the Everglades, I learned soon enough that this ecosystem is not a swamp. It is actually a river of fresh water, flowing over and through a vast landscape of sawgrass. Yet, despite not being a swamp in the literal sense, the landscape was historically treated as one. Today, much effort is made to restore this enigmatic water landscape, repairing the damage done by agricultural pollutants and helping bird populations diminished by plume hunting. I became extremely intrigued by the presence of the mosquito, a tiny creature that lives foremostly on nectar and is known to us solely for its nuisance. I wanted to flip this connection and pay reverence to an insect is a forerunner in driving our environment's ecosystem. I have been fascinated by the little skeeters for a while now, especially since their population and presence in my hometown seems to be increasing significantly due to climate change. My homeland, the Netherlands, which is the land that lies below, is also a wetland‚ drained and muddy place that lost its connection with its ancient cultural practices a long time ago. Offerings left in bogs are found throughout the country, but we are not taught about this in schools. We do not learn to worship the water or the many bugs and creatures that dwell there despite being infinitely entangled. Also, in the Everglades, I am told that the one creature I could harm is the mosquito, a species that seems to have no easy or simple function for humans...
