“Between sun-split skin and biting my nails, rubbing my fingertips against the hand of the one I love, I embrace the perspective of death. In turn, I become aware of the underworld that teems beneath me.”

—Worm Girl 

‘From the mouths of worms’ is an ongoing project that investigates decomposition as an essential element of fathoming our own subconscious descents. The vitality of any system depends not only on purity but on its capacity to transform waste. The worm, a hidden figure with the capacity to catalyze total transformation, traverses this realm as a living symbol of psyche while acting as a channel into the subconscious itself. It is a messenger, an accomplice, a friend, a foe—a creature of the underworld that transmutes, paves, and metabolizes the cry for regeneration. The psyche and the soil are bound by the same principle: renewal through decomposition.

Kaile Teramoto is a visual artist, researcher, and storyteller based in Northern California. Her work centers around examining decomposition and how it relates to the human experience. She often explores these themes through the lens of “Worm Girl”—a fictitious character who fearlessly braves the underworld by virtue of finding new meaning.