MOSQUITO STUDIES

In his photographic series Mosquito Studies, Mikkel Due Andersen turns one of nature’s most overlooked and unwanted creatures into an object of quiet contemplation. Through his lens, the mosquito is stripped of its everyday associations and revealed as something almost sculptural — delicate, alien, and filled with improbable grace. The images linger in the space between fascination and discomfort, asking us to confront our instinctive reactions and look closer at what we normally turn away from.

At high magnification, the mosquitoes emerge as complex structures of light and texture. Every vein in a wing, every hair on the body, becomes a landscape in itself — a fragile architecture that speaks of resilience and adaptation. What once seemed insignificant transforms into a visual study of precision, movement, and survival.

Technically, the photographs are the result of patient experimentation with light, optics, and depth of field. Andersen works with extreme macro lenses and a carefully controlled lighting setup to reveal detail invisible to the naked eye. The shallow focus demands meticulous control — each image is often composed from multiple exposures, layered to preserve sharpness without losing the softness of natural light. In some works, he employs a deliberately slow shutter speed, allowing the faint tremor of the insect or the movement of air to leave subtle traces in the frame. This controlled blur adds a sense of vibration and breath — a reminder that these still images are born of something alive.

Through this fusion of scientific attention and artistic curiosity, Mosquito Studies becomes more than a series about insects. It is a meditation on coexistence — on our shared fragility, and on how beauty often hides in the things we fear or disregard. Andersen’s work invites a slower way of seeing, one that blurs the boundary between nature and art, fascination and unease.