Our Promise
We never
kill for art.
We never take a life for the sake of art. This is the one line this house will never cross.
The Boundary
Any art that takes a living creature as its material carries a boundary that must never be crossed. We have drawn that line, clearly and without exception.
What We Uphold
These three, upheld without exception. Should even one be unmet, no brush is ever laid upon that specimen.
The First — We Take No Life
We never kill for art. The beetles that become our works are those that died in our care, those that died in transit on the way to a collector and were returned to us, those that had already died when they reached us, and those we acquire as specimens. We never hasten a life for the sake of a brushstroke.
The Second — Origin Recorded
For each beetle we use, we record its origin (captive-bred, wild-origin or unknown) and how it came to be used (it died in our care; it died in transit and was returned to us; it had already died when it reached us; or we acquired it as a specimen). For a specimen artwork, both are written on its Certificate of Authenticity. We honour that a creature whose life has ended may endure in a new and lasting form.
The Third — With Reverence
We never forget that each specimen once held a life. Japan keeps a quiet tradition of gratitude — of joining one’s hands before the tools and creatures that serve us. In that spirit, we mourn each beetle and lay it to rest before the work begins.
Why the Hercules
A brief life, given a lasting form.
The Hercules does not live long as an adult. It has long been preserved as a specimen. To paint upon one whose life has ended is not to deny that life, but to keep what would otherwise fade — to hold a fleeting form as beauty. This is no story imposed. We simply pay our respect to the architecture of life, and lay down the brush in quiet.
Our Standing
Should you ask, we will answer everything. Our ethics are not something to conceal, but something to show.
Inquiries — info@herculeslabo.com