Welcome to Bloodsuckers: Nature’s Vampires at the Australian Museum. From ancient myths to modern science, this exhibition explores animals that feed on blood. Blood sustains us, and it also sustains over 30,000 species on Earth. Leeches, moths, flies, fishes, bats, birds, and more have evolved to take advantage of this abundant resource. How they do this is intricate, diverse, and frankly, quite impressive.
Still, we are often afraid of them. Fear of creatures who drink our blood has spawned belief in the undead around the world. Blood-feeders have inspired us too - from medical treatments to storytelling, we have relied on bloodsucking animals for millennia. As much as they bug us, blood-feeders are fascinating. While we may never love them, some knowledge and understanding may help you live with them.
The entrance to the exhibition is a large gothic-style entry arch positioned in the centre of an open corridor space. The arch is grey with a textured stone-like surface and is shaped as an oversized open mouth. Across the top, large red three-dimensional letters read “BLOODSUCKERS,” with smaller red text below reading “NATURE’S VAMPIRES.” The arch opening is framed at the top by large teeth, including two elongated pointed canines on either side. On the left, a dark red wall display stylised red blood cells. In the distance, a large mosquito silhouette is visible on an illuminated red wall. An escalator appears to the right of the entrance which leads down into the exhibition space.