Simon Ravenscroft: A Relative Play of Wax, Haze

To see the world as if through a dragonfly wing…

(I am thinking of Zenithoptera lanei
or the clearspot bluewing
about which I recently read a paper explaining
that this creature’s distinctive blueness
is a result of diffuse light scattering
in the layers of wax crystals that form
a composite structure in the wings,
enhancing colour.
Iridescence results
from this multi-layered structure:
longitudinal filaments below and leaf-shaped
crystals above; the upper, thicker wax layer
increases brightness while reducing chroma.
Now, iridescence implies variability of colour
based on perspective. The word is a compound
of Greek iridos, from iris – a goddess
incidentally – and the Latin suffix
-escent; it means literally
to have a tendency towards rainbow.
But the viewer’s position in the world
changes what they see. Say that you and I
are stood across from a dragonfly
at different angles; we will see a different
range of colours in its wings.
Since it is in the nature of the world
that the light changes constantly, even
if you and I
and the dragonfly
attained perfect
stillness,
these colours would still change
perpetually with the light before
our eyes. It is the layers
of wax that do this.)

…a bluey haze of iridescence.