Fairy Wasps and VESPID exhibition

​Feared, Rejected and Resented?
Beautiful, Dauntless and Unappreciated?

Celebrating the most unloved of creatures: The Wasp

The making of an artist book and an invitation to the exhibition

A few years ago I chanced upon Derek Binns during one of our Insect Watch Group meetings at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. He was carrying a jam jar of water and several empty yellow coloured bowls. Naturally I was intrigued.

Derek has a speciality that few others are even aware of: he is a specialist in Microscopic Wasps (and other tiny insects) and his slightly murky water was likely to contain a number of different species. I was directed to his account on Bluesky and found a magical world of teeny tiny insects - each insect less than 1mm in size. 

Scroll on a bit in time and a chance conversation with Tom Grey at the Treen Exhibition in Sevenoaks Kaleidoscope Art Gallery and the Vespid exhibition was conceived. Fascinated by the diversity of the species, a whole back catalog of wasp pictures and a desire to see if we can change attitudes, we set about finding a group of like-minded artists to join us. 

Mymar Pulchellum [image credit Derek Binns]

I've recently realised how much my work straddles the gap between artist and scientist and I'm always keen to introduce people to something new ... so the Fairy Wasp book began with permission to dip through Derek's Wasp catalogue and some experimentation in how to represent these exquisite insects. 

Obviously I wasn't going to draw them life size - a dot would not be of very much interest! 

According to Derek:

Finding microscopic wasps is quite a challenge by dint of the fact that a lot of them are too small to see with the naked eye. These need to be caught by trapping, and there are a few recognised styles of trap for micro wasps, but I favour yellow pan traps because they work well and are simple. The resulting liquid from any trap has to be examined under a low power microscope and any relevant wasps picked out and placed into ethanol. They can then be examined under a high power microscope in order to determine an identification. This will usually involve referring to a few scientific papers in order to be sure. In most cases the wasp will need to be slide mounted in order to make the determination. Such slides are then placed into Collections for future research. I tend to specialise in Trichogrammatid wasps. This is a family of wasps that are the smallest in size, going down to 0.22mm long. Identification is difficult, but worthwhile. As these insects are so small and so difficult to see without a determined approach, any that are found have potential to be of interest to science. You never know, but you might be the first person ever to see a new species!

Mostly I was attracted to the hairy wings and divergent antenna; it was really hard to narrow down the selection from over 1400 images. 

The disks were reminiscent of view from via a microscope as I considered making a new flag book. I explored different scales, media and drawing techniques before instincively settling on graphite powder, erasers and pencil in a looser style.

The concertina approach still appealed, so I adapted the flag book:

A slow process of drawing, varnishing, gluing and weighting and the book is complete. It's not quite as photogenic as some of my previous books so come and see it in the flesh at VESPID during August. 

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​An exhibition celebrating the humble and maligned wasp. Featuring a diverse range of work by the Sevenoaks Visual Artists’ Forum, together with invited artists. Works include oil paintings, sculpture, prints, and drawings, all inspired by the wasp, both literal and allegorical. Move beyond the childhood phobia to see a new side of this beautiful, plucky, social insect.

Location: Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks, TN13 1LQ

Opens: 10am on Wednesday 5th August
Closes 12pm on Saturday 29th August. 

Gallery Hours: Monday: 10am – 6pm | Tuesday - Friday: 10am – 5pm | Saturday:  10am – 4pm

Please note we will close at noon on the last day, the 29th August, but in the morning there will be a chance to meet some of the artists in the gallery space.

Curated by Tom Grey and Louisa Crispin 

Featuring works by Jocelyn Bailey, Peps Barkhan, Ann Bridges, Sarah Cliff, Andrea Coltman, Louisa Crispin, Esther Ford, Martin Garwood, Justin Gilday, Leila Godden, Tom Grey, Kate Grimes, Amanda Hopkins, Maggie Kelham, Steven Knowles, Ibby Lanfear, Kevin Moore, Roz Newby, Rebecca Odessa, Dizzy Pragnell, Stefanie Smith, Franny Swann and Rhea Thierstein

Design a Wasp: Inspired by images from Derek Binns, draw your own wasp to take home or hang in the exhibition (pencils and paper provided throughout the exhibition).

Artists Presentations: Join the Sevenoaks Visual Artists Forum members for an evening of short presentations by the participating artists, who will each talk about their work in a session led by Louisa Crispin and Tom Grey on Wednesday 5th August 6pm to 8pm in the gallery space.

Collage Workshop for all ages: Come and make your own wasp collage, all materials provided, in an open workshop led by Sarah Cliff, Louisa Crispin, and Tom Grey at 1:30pm to 3:30pm on Tuesday the 11th August. [children must be accompanied by an adult]

​Presentation: Can You Learn to Love Wasps? 

Louisa Stefani has just completed her BSc dissertation at UCL on wasps, and will be giving a short talk in the gallery space at 11am on Saturday the 22nd August.

“Wasps have an image problem. Despite their ecological importance, many people fear or just generally dislike them, especially compared to bees. In this talk I will explore their importance for both humans and the environment and dispel common negative misconceptions. The hope is that you walk away with a new-found appreciation for and an understanding of wasps. Through my undergraduate research on reshaping public opinion of wasps, this talk will explore why exhibitions like this one are so important for changing public perceptions of disliked animals, encouraging positive behavioural change needed to tackle the biodiversity crisis."

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Derek Binns Wasp catalogue

More Wasp information

Exhibition Catalogue

Pure at RHS Chelsea Flower Show >