These are lean times. I don’t want to dwell on the preceding horrors – I’m sure that you, of all people, will be aware of what has gone before. You lived through the hungry times, yes?
But these creatures… these proud grass-hopper beasts we’ve grown from bone and sinew, from waist high pupae to these towering monsters… these Veldsprinkaan will be our salvation.
I hope.
You don’t look convinced. There are other herds, in far off lands. One in the arctic, I’ve heard. But ours; ours haunts the veldt – the Serengeti – pursuing the vast migratory populations. It’s a strange life.
I often wonder what it is like, down in your cities. Maybe one day I will visit you and see them.
If you’re still around.
The veldtsprinkaan began as an (unsuccessful) entry into an 'eco-village' competition – but quickly divested itself of even the barest pretension of sustainability and became a vehicle for getting under the skin of studio colleagues. You can scratch together a simple model of one in an hour – there's something therapeutic about the process. The forms iterate and evolve – have been grossly enlarged, manipulated, stunted – but the basic language; the elongated, insectile legs and carapaces and mandibles, remain intact.
