Submissions | VizChitra 2026
Vanishing Wings: A Textile Timeline of Insect Decline
Meghana
Professor, Design Educator, Textile Crafter•Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Description
Vanishing Wings is an immersive, walk-through textile installation that visualizes the historical decline of insect populations and reflects on its consequences for human life. Visitors move through layered fabric walls representing a temporal journey from the early 1900s to the present. Textiles, stitches, density of patterns, and material transparency gradually shift to express abundance, fragmentation, and disappearance. The experience is tactile, spatial, and contemplative, inviting viewers to sense loss rather than simply observe it. Data is central to the work. Population statistics, species diversity records, and ecological studies are translated into textile structures—density of stitches, repetition, scale, and material erosion. Numbers are not displayed as charts but embodied as material conditions. The project asks: What happens when the smallest, least-noticed lives begin to vanish? It encourages audiences to reconsider insects not as background organisms but as essential agents in pollination, food systems, soil health, and ecological balance. The work situates itself within urban and peri-urban ecologies, where insect decline is both visible and ignored. While the dataset may be locally grounded, the narrative resonates globally. This project aligns with More-than-human data and Living with climate change, transforming ecological data into a sensory, experiential encounter.
Data Source
The project draws from insect population studies, biodiversity records, and long-term ecological observations. Sources include published entomological research, archival datasets, and citizen-science platforms such as iNaturalist and Biodiversity of India. In addition, I will seek conversations with entomologists to ground the work in lived scientific insights and contemporary ecological concerns. Data types include numerical population counts, species diversity indices, temporal comparisons, and visual references. Where possible, localized datasets connected to urban and peri-urban ecosystems will be incorporated. The data will be curated and interpreted to trace shifts across time—abundance, reduction, and disappearance—forming the conceptual basis for material and spatial translation within the textile installation.
Technical Requirements
Tentatively Walk-through installation requiring approx. 3m × 4m floor space (flexible). Needs suspension/grid support for hanging textile panels. Soft, diffused lighting to emphasize material textures. No complex digital equipment required. Installation involves layered fabric partitions creating a navigable pathway. Audience interaction includes walking through and tactile engagement.
Project Status & Timeline
New proposal.
Data collection & refinement – 3 Weeks Concept development & sketches – 3 Weeks Material experimentation – 2 Weeks Production & assembly – 7 Weeks Final Assembly & Finishing – 1 Week Installation – 3rd July The project can be completed within the exhibition schedule.