"Searching for Butterflies" field recording and photographs, 2018-2025
Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Creator:
- Salimeh, Mudar, Kristensen, Nanna Hauge, and Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
- Abstract:
- "Searching for Butterflies" field recording and photographs depicts the work of Mudar Salimeh, a geologist and artist from Latakia, Syria, and his effort to document butterflies and moths in the area. Consists of one audio file of Salimeh's field recordings produced by Nanne Hauge Kristensen, an audio arist and anthropologist from Denmark; 22 image files with photographs of butterflies and moths; and one text file that includes identification information for the species photographed by Salimeh. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts.
- Extent:
- 329.3 Megabytes (24 files)
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.13140
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists of one audio file, 22 image files with photographs of butterflies and moths identified by Salimeh in Syria, and one text file with identification information. Topics include Salimeh's observations of butterfly and moth species in Syria, commentary on the impact of the Syrian civil war on Salimeh's life and work, and environmental damage in the area.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mudar Salimeh was born in 1975 in Latakia, Syria and is a geologist and artist. In 2018, after the discovery of a large number of caterpillars, and their later transformation into white butterflies in his art studio, he became interested in documenting the local butterflies and moths. He currently researches species of Lepidoptera and is creating an online encyclopedia of those he encounters in Syria.
Nanna Hauge Kristensen is an audio artist and anthropologist from Copenhagen, Denmark who explores human and more than human life through sound. Kristensen worked with Salimeh to produce the documentary "Searching for Butterflies" through Falling Tree, a radio production company, and BBC Radio Four.
Together, Mudar Salimeh and Nanna Hauge Kristensen are 2024 recepients of an Archive of Documentary Arts Collection Award for their work "Searching for Butterflies."
Sources:
Syrian Butterflies: Photographing and identification butterflies and moths in Syria, "About me" page, accessed May 13, 2025, https://syrianbutterflies.wordpress.com/.
Nanna Hauge Kristensen, "About" page, accessed May 13, 2025, https://www.nannahaugekristensen.com/about.
- Acquisition information:
- The "Searching for Butterflies" field recording and photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library from Mudar Salimeh and Nanna Hauge Kristensen as winners of the 2024 Archive of Documentary Arts Collection Award.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Tere Elizalde, July 2025.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2025-0011.
- Arrangement:
-
Materials are arranged in order as provided by the donors.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.
Contents
Using These Materials
- Using These Materials Links:
-
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
-
Access note. Collection contains electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.
- Terms of access:
-
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.
- Before you visit:
- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], "Searching for Butterflies" field recording and photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1pj1c