…a guest blog written by Bournemouth University Student, Molly McCormick
Seen above is a glimpse into the life of the Scottish Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis) created from silicone.
The largest, native leech found in the UK, this near threatened species is found only in a limited number of freshwater locations; usually small pools with muddy bottoms and fringed with reeds.
Despite their gruesome reputation, leeches are fascinating animals and I’m here to shed a little light and spread a little awareness about the Medicinal Leech.
Tasked by the amazing team from Buglife to create a model representing the Medicinal Leech, and to create an environment tank showing a small-scale snapshot of the creature’s home and movements, I was faced with many challenges. This was such an exciting project; I never knew leeches came in so many beautiful patterns.
Studying their movements and capturing that through sculpting was very difficult, but seeing the end result being poured in silicone was exciting. Trying to get the colouration right was a piece of work in its own right as I was only working from a handful of images, from a couple angles. The biggest challenge, by far was mixing the right colours, without the silicone setting. With a forty five minute work time, it caused some issues, but we got there in the end!
I feel this beautiful creature is overlooked and when this was mentioned in the brief, I knew I had to do it justice. Leeches are often ignored or avoided, due to the gruesome connections with sucking blood throughout history, but they are so much more.
They are part of our ecosystem and need to be protected.
The purpose of this collaboration was so that Buglife could have an interactive display to help enlighten both children and adults about this fascinating species, in a fun and hands on way.
Before transferring my leach to the Buglife team, it was displayed at the New Blades Showcase in London where children and adults both squirmed at touching and feeling what leeches are like, whilst loving the interaction. It was an amusing day, and great to see so many people having fun and getting hands on with the exhibit.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Jamie Robins, Buglife Programmes Manager, for working with Art University Bournemouth’s Modelmaking course to set these creative projects and to Sally Morris, Buglife Species on the Edge Conservation Officer, the amazing leech expert who helped with images and useful facts about the Medicinal Leeches.
Artist Profile: Molly Rose McCormick is a 22-year-old post graduate Modelmaker from Arts University Bournemouth. This project was created through our external brief project set back in 2023, and the aim was to create a model for a working client.
Find Molly on Instagram to see more of her art: @mcco.makes
If you would like to use your creative skills to support our work, please do get in touch. We’re always on the look out for innovative ways to share our love of bugs with a wider audience; just send us an email with the subject “Buglife Creatives” to [email protected]
Main Image Credit: Medicinal Leech Display © Molly McCormick
