Gone Buggo, Media Release, 31 July 2024

What do you get when you take a Fireback Huntsman home for research and photograph it in your bathroom? And not just any bathroom….a Lego bathroom? And why?

TEDx speaker, author and wildlife educator Steven Gill says “Let Me Explain…” with his new Australian east coast tour!

As a wildlife educator using macro photographs of live animals on Lego dioramas, the work of Steven Gill and Gone Buggo isn’t exactly intuitive to most people. ‘Let Me Explain…’ is a live performance; part science lesson, part comedy, part social revolution, passionately delivered in front of projections of colourful, exciting close-up photos of weird and wonderful critters. Over an hour and a half, Steven will invite the audience to explore the fascinating world of Australian wildlife, and why it is important to everyone and how we can all do our part, all with a side of Lego!

Steven Gill is taking his show on the road this September through October, right in time for Australian school holidays, with stops in Port Douglas, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Noosa, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Toowoomba. ‘Let Me Explain…’ is also proud to be part of the 2024 Sydney Fringe Festival line-up.

‘Toy photography and macro wildlife photography don’t go together, and there’s no established framework of understanding surrounding everything I’m trying to achieve with Gone Buggo, so I’ve struggled from the beginning with people drawing assumptions about the nature of my images,’ says Steven Gill, who gave his TEDx talk as part of TEDx South Melbourne’s ‘Rebels & Renegades’ in March.

‘I believe that Gone Buggo has the power to reshape the way people see, value, and interact with their environments and I want to share it with the world. Let Me Explain… is an opportunity to introduce people to the art, the artist, the process, and the meaning all at once in a fun and engaging way.’

The one-of-a-kind wildlife photographer from North Queensland founded Gone Buggo in 2019 to change the way people see, interpret and fight for the world we live in. Understanding that photography of the macro world in its original habitat wasn’t enticing the general population enough to find out more, he started to photograph the bugs and reptiles he researched in Lego dioramas. His photography quickly gained popularity on social media, including capturing the eye of global superstar Katy Perry.

‘I want to share a sense of wonder and joy with people, as the natural world is such an incredible and interesting place but in the digital age it often gets overlooked,’ continues Gill. ‘The show is an invitation to a life of learning, of unbridled curiosity, of awe and inspiration, and a call to arms for citizen scientists, but even if I can just get people out in their gardens and parks marveling at the tiny wonders around them, I’ll consider it a success.’

Steven Gill’s ‘Let Me Explain…’ will visiting the following Australian cities on these dates:

• Port Douglas-September 7, 2024, The Clink Theatre
• Cairns- September 16, 2024, Tank Arts Theatre
• Townsville- September 19. 2024, Sir George Kneipp Theatre, JCU
• Rockhampton- September 20, 2024, Walter Reid Cultural Centre
• Noosa- September 23, 2024, The J Theatre
• Brisbane- September 24, 2024, Queensland Multicultural Centre
• Sydney- September 27-28, 2024, Factory Theatre
• Melbourne- September 30, 2024, State Library of Victoria
• Yarra Ranges- October 1, 2024, Monbulk Community Centre Melbourne- October 2, 2024,
• Melbourne Science Gallery
• Canberra- October 5, 2024, Belconnen Arts Centre
• Toowoomba- October 13, 2024, Empire Theatre

Tickets are now available from the venue or the following link: https://ticketing.humanitix.com/tours/gone-buggo-presents-let-me-explain.

About Steven Gill: Steven Gill is a naturalist, educator, and wildlife photographer. Having founded Gone Buggo, a social enterprise dedicated to increasing awareness and education around the importance of smaller, often less appreciated, forms of life, it seems fair to say that he is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He has recently self-published a collection of children’s stories he wrote for, and about, his daughter, delivered a TEDx talk in Melbourne about his particularly unique approach to wildlife photography, and is actively engaged in sharing his thought-provoking environmental education through public speaking events and classroom incursions.