INSECT SYNDICATE

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The ALPHA-OMEGA series of armors is a project from 2016 in which I collaborated with fellow designer Gustavo M.

These armors are part of a larger story project, they are used by different characters throughout the story and grant unique abilities to them. The "INSECT SYNDICATE" is an organization that after some time became the owner of 11 from these armors, and each member displays a different "insect identity", and has been recruited under different circumstances.

The FIREFLY is a founding member, his armor is a customized OMICRON which grants him the power of teleportation.
(each Alpha-Omega armor is named after a letter from the Greek Alphabet)

"I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars"

- Charles Darwin, in a letter to the American naturalist Asa Gray, in 1860

The ICHNEUMON is named after a family of parasitoid wasps. A founding member of the Syndicate, his customized BETA armor grants him the power to corrode several materials. The Ichneumonidae family of wasps and their life cycle has troubled several theologians and scientists over time.

Despite the "Insect" on the Syndicate name, it recruits and accepts other non-insect Arthropods on its team, like the SCORPION.

The Scorpion is the third member, and his customized GAMMA armor greatly enhances his strength and endurance.

The MOTH is the fourth recruit, and her customized EPSILON suit grants her seismic powers, she's able to cause earthquales and manipulate the land. As you can tell by her snake-like tail, she's not exactly human but a cihuacoatl (from the nahuatl "snake woman". In the IN LAK'ECH Mythos - which the Insect Syndicate is part of, they're a species native to the realm of Aztlán that has coexisted with human populations for centuries).

The Rothschildia Orizaba species of moths, from the Saturniidae family, are related to ITZPAPALOTL, a pre-hispanic Mexican Goddess considered the ruler of a paradisiac land, Tamoanchan, and associated to the Tzitzimimeh ("star demons"), who were said to appear and attack travellers during solar eclipses, and threaten the very existence of the earth by putting the sun in jeopardy.

The MANTIS is the fifth recruit, his power, derived from the customized ZETA armor, is control over wind

The SPIDER is the sixth recruit, and his customized THETA armor allows him to climb virtually any place, besides increasing his endurance and agility. On this one I've also used some "samurai aesthetics".

The Nephila clavata spider and other Orb Weaver spiders from the lands bathed by the Pacific Ocean are usually known in Japan as "Jorogumo", a name shared with a creature from the Japanese folklore.

The HORNET is inspired by the ETA armor, which power is intangibility

The "LOCUST" is inspired on the DELTA armor, which power is that of creating and controlling short-lived duplicates of it's user.

The Beetle is inspired by the RHO armor, which power is that of allowing the user to liquefy and control his own body mass

The WASP is inspired by the UPSILON armor and a Tarantula Hawk Wasp. It's power is enhanced regeneration of damaged tissue.

The CICADA is the last Insect Syndicate recruit, his armor is inspired on the MI, which power is weather control, and the ability to create and control powerful electric charges.

(Above) The comparison of each "Alpha-Omega" armor and its respective Insect Syndicate version.
The Alpha-Omega were designed in 2016, their Insect Syndicate versions in 2017.

(Above) Besides the series of 11 armors, I've illustrated arthropods from different species, 11 which have inspired the armors, plus three others: the Polybia paulista wasp, the "Jataí" stingless bee (Tetragonisca angustula) and the common bee (Apis melifera).

Part of this project has been created to raise awareness about the rights that sentient animals have to life in freedom and not to suffer, under exploitation or under natural conditions (parasitism and illness, for example). Most arthropods are largely ignored even by animal welfare advocating groups, however several of them display physical and behavorial conditions which attest their capability to feel, not only pain, but also joy and to build complex social relations and considerable learning.

You can read more about this issue at Animal Ethics.

I've also produced stickers of each arthropod, and traded it alongside prints of other animal-themed illustrations I've produced earlier, for events promoting veganism and animal rights in some Brazilian cities, like in Florianópolis (Santa Catarina State, Brazil). Fellow artist and vegan Gustavo Morette has also produced a series of his own illustrations promoting animal rights.