In contrast to the other works in the exhibition, “neural swarm” is arranged in less of a gridlike formation and more of a clustering that recalls the display of insects at a natural history museum. It’s only upon close examination and through additional context that we even realize these bee-like insects are of the artist’s own design, and that they don’t in fact exist in the natural world. As Crespo puts it, “These specimens are part of a collection from a particular neural expedition, a swarm of relatives in all their shapes and life-stages.” At first glance, her world appears to be our world. It pulls from colors, patterns, and shapes that are deeply familiar to our conscious and subconscious and plays them back to us in forms that seem fathomable yet fantastic. The end result is a surreal illustration of an imagined lifecycle for a exquisite species that never existed.
