What if Darth Vader were a beetle? Or Princess Leia morphed into an arthropod? Illustrator Richard Wilkinson takes this flight of fancy seriously, transforming beloved characters from the galaxy far, far away into exquisitely detailed insects.
Inspired by the natural world’s elegance and the modern world’s obsession with collecting, Wilkinson crafts each insect-version with both precision and pop culture swagger. These are illustrated specimens complete with Latin-style names and subtle nods to the characters they riff on.
The project, titled Insects From A Far Away Galaxy, cleverly blends classic natural history aesthetics with sci-fi fantasy.
It invites us to reconsider the familiar, both the world of arthropods around us and the cinematic universe we love.
Remind you of a certain protocol droid?
As one commentator put it: “It seemed to me the best way to celebrate the link between the world of natural-history classification and that of modern obsessions.”
Wilkinson’s work reminds us that the boundary between science and imagination is thinner than we think. A bug isn’t just a bug, it might also be a stormtrooper, disguised under shimmering wings and intricate lines.
And that’s part of the charm: the serious collector’s mindset, the wonderful absurdity of turning an icon into an insect, the beauty of natural forms, and the joy of pop culture.
So next time you spot a beetle or a bug crawling quietly across a leaf, pause. Maybe, just maybe, it’s channeling something more than nature’s design, it might be channeling a galaxy far away.
See more of Wilkinson’s work on his website.
Images © Copyright Richard Wilkinson. Used with artist’s permission.
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