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Krista Leigh Steinke, A Tiny Red Dot (and other hIdden messages) (2024), 4 min 33 sec., video still; Courtesy of the artist
Krista Leigh Steinke:
A Tiny Red Dot (and other hidden messages)
VIDEO ARTWORK
A Tiny Red Dot (and other hidden messages) (2024) is an experimental video exploring the interconnectedness of nature while reflecting on our role in protecting the environment and our shared community. The “red dot” in this piece is embodied by the ladybug, a universal symbol of transformation, protection, grace, and good fortune. Ladybugs serve as both spiritual and ecological protectors, safeguarding nature’s ecosystem from harmful pests. Referencing Carl Sagan’s iconic reflection in A Pale Blue Dot, the video shifts perspective from the vastness of outer space to a close-up view—underneath rocks, leaves, sand, and soil. The work collages 4K video, manipulated analog footage, NASA imagery, and experimental effects to poetically reflect on the intersections of time and space. Through a montage of small, quiet moments, the project invites viewers to pause, "connect the dots," and reflect on how our interconnectedness with the universe also ties us to one another.
Bio
Krista Leigh Steinke is a lens-based artist and filmmaker known for her experimental approach to photo media. Her work draws from art and photographic history, science, current events, the female perspective, and individual experience to explore how the physical, social, and personal intertwine. She is interested in the human-environmental relationship and how we can better understand ourselves through the lens of the natural world. Steinke regularly screens her work in museums, galleries, and film festivals across the country, as well as internationally, including Whitechapel Gallery (London, UK), Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Currents New Media (Santa Fe, NM), LA Film Forum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Asia Culture Center (Gwangju, South Korea). Recently, she received a Jones Artist Award, hosted by the Houston Endowment, and was featured in the 2024 Texas Biennial. Steinke grew up in Texas and lived in multiple cities across the U.S. Currently, she divides her time between Houston and a small town in New York state.