Sexual Selection

Merritt's new book Sexual Selection is in many ways even more captivating.She perfected her distinctive vision to a subtle and complex art, creating astonishing and surprisingly lyrical images as she pursued her rigorous analysis of intricate human sexuality examined in the context of the manifold reproductive strategies of plants and insects. Soon after the incredible success of Digital Diaries, Merritt embraced a new obsession: science. While she pursued and completed a degree in biology, she found herself transfixed by the complex mating habits of plants and insects. By photographing the insect world during the day and continuing to focus on the art of human sexuality throughout the evenings, the concept for her new book was a natural progression for Merritt to reach. The questions she asks as a scientist she answers as an artist, in photography and writing; why are some sexual practices and organs so detailed, complex and bizarre when this gets in the way of basic survival? As Natacha explains, 'Sexual selection is the sensual side of evolution. It explains the ornate, the creative and the beautiful, it can explain arousal, and it's what gets us laid'.