Abrams & Chronicle Microsculpture

You will never look at beetles or moths the same way again. Art meets science with breathtaking effect. Microsculpture is a unique photographic study of insects in stunning magnification that celebrates the wonders of nature and science. The photographs by Levon Biss capture the beauty of the insect world in astonishing detail and are printed in large format to provide an unforgettable viewing experience. Each image in Microsculpture consists of about 8,000 individual shots. Segments of the specimen are illuminated and photographed separately with microscope lenses before being stacked to ensure a consistently sharp focus. These images are then combined to create a single high-resolution file. From start to finish, each portrait takes about four weeks to create. The project has attracted worldwide attention and has been featured in various publications. Microsculpture has been exhibited at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and at the Xposure 2016 International Photography Festival. So far, over half a million people have seen it, and it will tour museums worldwide starting in 2017. The entomology collection holds significant cultural and historical value and includes the oldest pinned insect specimen in the world, as well as many thousands of insects collected by groundbreaking Victorian explorers and biologists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace.