Artist Statement

The purpose of our project is to help further connect the whole campus community through student-made art. We believe Chico States’ value of nature and sustainability can be further enhanced with the painted representation of ecology on the “Aruba WIFI Router Boxes”. The interactive element of this website, will educate students, faculty and the visitors on the importance of insects and create a dialogue between us all.

The process began with the 20-25 WIFI router boxes that will be installed all over campus. On them, we’re realistically painting native, endangered and invasive insects that can be found in Northern California. Insects can be found all around the planet and though many consider them pests, they are extremely important to us and our environment. Insects have been able to adapt to their ever changing environments, but with the rapid pace of climate change, deforestation, agricultural pollution and invasive species, our insects aren’t able to keep up. We want to promote sustainable living, such as buying organic and avoiding roundup and creating our own conservation habitats. Along with our art we have provided a brief description of the insects, their ecological importance, awareness if threatened and some fun facts.

Our project has been in the making for the past year as we sat in our ARTS 499 Mural class, wondering what we could do with these routers. Our greatest thank you to J. F. Pouwels, who fought to create a mural course and has immersed us into the world of public community art and it’s value, as well as an option as a professional career.

-Laura Tranquilino & Rhys Pritchett