Bioluminescent Baby, is the fruit of a collaboration between Fiona Benson, Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas. For each piece the artists travelled – bodily, or via zoom - to witness insect events, including cicadas emerging in their tens of thousands, and mass illumination of fireflies. They made field recordings of the insects; interviewed entomologists, researchers, and enthusiasts; and responded creatively and collaboratively – via poetry and sound – to the insect world. The pieces draw on the expert voices of academics from the University of Exeter (at both our Penryn & Exeter campuses) and from further afield including the University of Columbia New York, and the University of Connecticut.

Bioluminescent Baby invites the listener to join them on these immersive journeys, from the vast ranges of the Smoky Mountains in West Virginia to the more intimate meadows of Totnes, while also touching on humanitarian issues such as the desperate fight against mosquito-borne malaria in countries like Mozambique.

Please note some of the poems contain strong language.