William Yaxley

Question  Your work examines the Australian landscape and creatures that inhabit it, how do you place bugs in this mix?

Response  One of the things that fascinate me is the way organic and inorganic forms change their shape and colour in response to their environment.  I’m sure jewel beetles have a good reason for their colours. I liked the idea of combining the classic Volkswagen beetle with the jewel beetle.

Beetles have been on my mind lately, because a jewel beetle thought to be extinct, was found recently, close to some land we own overlooking the Great Lake in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. The land is very rugged, with outcrops of dolerite covered with snow gums, cider gums, native shrubs and wildflowers, moss and lichen. This is the perfect habitat for the miena jewel beetle. We have been searching for it when we go up there, but so far, we have had no luck.