Moths, 2020

• Moths, 2020
• Mark Loughney
• Ink on Bristol, framed 
• Size: 18” x 18”

Mark Loughney: “While in prison, I got into the habit of staying up drawing all night until the morning. I had a little AAA-battery powered book light with a clip that I used to shed light on my small drawing board. One night I wasn’t drawing, so I wrote a letter to a friend.  She had just lost a loved one and in an effort to comfort her, I mentioned that she should keep an eye out for moths…that some Native American traditions consider moths to be the spirits of their deceased ancestors. As soon as I placed the period on that sentence, a gigantic tomato hornworm moth came through the small crack in my window. It flew two laps around the ceiling of the cell, I held open my hand, and the moth landed in my palm. Then it tried to stick its proboscis in me (or at least that's what it looked and felt like it was doing) so I flung it out of my hand and it rested on my blue fleece prison blanket. I fell asleep and when I woke up, it was gone.”