Specimen Attacus Atlas

Specimen Attacus Atlas is a personal narrative informed by my developing knowledge of entomology. Of particular interest to me is the conjunction of realism and abstraction. My current work seeks to explore the way realism can push into and through abstraction. The whole notion of the specimen is something that I explore continually within my work. This led to an increasing artistic interest in the science and biology discourse of process, mutation, and change. This artwork serves as a scientifically informative piece that narrates the erratic behaviour of a moth upon the stimulus of light. The artwork aims to visually disturb the viewer due to the large-scale rendering and hyper realistic quality having the impression of coming to life. This hyper-realistic artwork reflects my curious nature of collecting natural specimens as inspiration. Predominantly working in oil paints, I find this medium allows for intense realism and details of scientific accuracy can be observed.

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Mallory Leckey (she/her) is an emerging artist living and working on Peramangk land (South Australia, Adelaide).
Mallory Leckey’s methodology explores themes of abject subject matter, decaying specimens and the conjunction of hyperrealism and abstraction. Primarily drawn to the natural world through insects, plants, and the environment, within her study she focusses on abject insects themselves and her own interaction with them. The seemingly endless variety of entomological life she encountered in her research encouraged her to undertake further studies.
Leckey’s hyper-realistic artworks are a reflection of her curious nature of collecting natural specimens as her main source of inspiration. Predominantly working in oil paints, she finds this medium allows for intense realism and details of scientific accuracy can be observed.
She is currently in her third year in completion of the Bachelor of Contemporary Art at the University of South Australia.