Love Motels for Insects | Brandon Ballengée | TEDxLSU

Brandon Ballengée has two big passions - art and bugs. So how does the visual artist and biologist combine these loves? By building art installations equipped with lights to attract bugs, of course! These “Love Motels” for insects scattered across the globe also help raise awareness of the human impact on the environment and his beloved bugs. Brandon Ballengée is a visual artist, biologist and environmental educator whose nature-inspired artworks are raising awareness of the human impact on the environment and garnering international acclaim. His artwork has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally in more than 20 countries. A central focus of his research been the occurrence of developmental deformities and population declines among amphibians and other cold-blooded vertebrates. His book Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, was published in 2010, followed by a solo exhibition at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. He continued his amphibian research as a visiting scientist at McGill University in Montréal and earned a PhD in Transdisciplinary Art and Biology from Plymouth University in the United Kingdom. Currently, Brandon serves as a postdoctoral researcher Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, studying the impact on fishes from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx