A Fly On The Wall (Sees What We Don't)

A Fly On The Wall (Sees What We Don't)

Partly because I often paint visual puns, and partly because I was being bothered by a fly buzzing around my house one day, I came up with the idea for this painting.

To get the right scale - and re-create the world as seen by the fly - I first cut out a fly-sized shape and attached it to a chunk of concrete I found outside.

The detail in the painting is therefore drawn from this model.




I also used a microscope to look at a fly's eye close-up - yes, I used a fly that had conveniently died on the windowsill in my studio - with a view to as much accuracy as possible.

However, the eye of my fly is showing us what it sees  - although you need to get "up close and personal" with the painting to be able to catch this level of detail.

Details reflected in the fly's eye

(I've taken a photo using the macro feature, to bring this detail into focus for my blog.)

And what exactly is it that the fly sees that we miss? If you've ever said "I'd love to have been a fly on the wall while that was happening!", you'll have an idea of what I'm getting at. In this case, it's not the happy stuff - but events and unkind actions, such as crimes, that the police cannot solve - but likely could, if they could just be a fly on the wall!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer