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Man is but a Worm
2024-2025



Earthworms have lived beneath our feet for centuries: rotating the topsoil, distributing nutrients, and creating burrows for water and other creatures to move freely throughout the earth.


Human-caused changes to our climate affect earthworms’ ability to successfully carry out these processes that support the continuation of terrestrial life.



Taking its name from a caricature by Edward Linley Sambourne from 1882, Man is but a Worm is a confrontation of the reality of our dependence on these magical creatures and a call-to-action to support and care for them. The processes used mirror the fragility of the worm’s existence, embracing destruction and unpredictability as a representation of how fractured our lives will be without them. 



Cyanotypes 

Man is but a Worm began as a project rooted in physical collaboration with earthworms. For the earthworms to be able to interact with the photographical aspects of the pieces, the analogue process of cyanotype was used to prevent the worms from having to move around on printer inks that are harmful to their natural chemistry.

The images below feature a combination of original cyanotyped images, toned with tea, and cyanotypes that earthworms have wiggled across the top of, leaving imprints of beetroot behind as they move.

The subjects include human and natural aspects of life that are dependent on earthworms, and the worms themselves.



On to Tissue

Then, to embrace the fragility of an earthworm’s environment, Man is but a Worm progressed on to being printed on tissue paper.



Installation

The project’s final form took the shape of an immersive installation held in Penryn, Cornwall in 2025.
The exhibition consisted of a 4.5 metre-long tissue paper earthworm, pulsating lights, and audio recorded from under the earth to emulate the feeling of being underground.












TALLULAH STRINGER

: tallulahstringer@gmail.com