The second spider design in this Major project will be of a Pirate spider-a variety of the Orb Weaver species of spider. The reasoning behind this choice is that the pirate spider is commonly known to mimic prey and trick other spiders (kidadl, n.d.) into revealing themselves on their webs, only to be hunted and eaten, the pirate spider does not build webs itself as it does not feed on insects, choosing instead to trick, kill and eat other spiders-it merely uses others’ own webs against them. 

    This species of spider will represent the character of Mr Nancy -see image 1 (American Gods Wiki, n.d.) from American Gods (2017) whom actually has the ability to morph between being a man and being a spider-in this form he is named Anansi. Mr Nancy is a trickster god and a story teller, which is fitting to the pirate spider’s activities of tricking others. In this case, the spider is not a spinner of webs alike to the story-spinning of Mr Nancy-so somewhat dissimilar to the character here-but is a web-plucker- influencing others’ actions for own benefit. The Anansi the spider stories originate from Ghanaian folklore, these were moralistic stories to teach children about ethical and socio-political issues and right from wrong (Wikipedia, 2021). In the series (American Gods, 2017) Mr Nancy is clever, conniving, but also has a focus on helping fellow black communities and people, however this is through instigating chaos and unrest (American Gods Wiki, n.d.). 

   The focus of the designs in the project are based on creating realistic versions of the spider species in each design, however, there will be elemental aspects to the setting of each backdrop the finished work will incorporate to further relate the design to the American Gods character. In the Bilquis design it will be lit with Ultra violet lighting and coloured lighting, and in this photography set there will be a focus on the colour purple as a background setting- a nod to Ashanti royalty-and certain appearances in the show where Mr Nancy is wearing purple for this reason also. Ashanti is the region in Ghana that the Anansi stories originated.

   As this is an initial blog collection, there will likely be further research performed on pirate spiders (Mimetidae) and Mr Nancy throughout this Major project that is not currently featured here, efforts to add and update this blog throughout the process will be made.

    The practicality of planning and creating this design will be covered in blog 8.

   

References

American Gods Wiki (n.d.) Mr Nancy/Series [Online]. Available from https://americangods.fandom.com/wiki/Mr._Nancy/Series (Accessed January 5th 2022)

Kidadl.com (n.d.) Pirate spider facts you’ll never forget [Online] Available from https://kidadl.com/animal-facts/pirate-spider-facts (Accessed January 7th 2022)

Wikipedia (2021) Anansi [Online] 29th December 2021. Available from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi#Origin (Accessed January 11th 2022)

Wikipedia (2021) Ashanti People [Online] 23rd November 2021. Available from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people (Accessed January 11th 2022)