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Cole Swanson

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Monument is the culmination of a five year process of collecting, pinning, and gilding insects found within and around domestic spaces. The use of gold draws attention to the beautiful and complex structures of the insect body - the veins in the win

Arranging them in constellated patterns determined by maps made of the spaces where the bodies are found (light fixtures, window sills, nearby sidewalks, etc.) is a nod to particular relationships between animal science, mythology, economics, ritual

Conversely, 'Monument' is an acknowledgement of the agency of the non-human world by drawing attention to the actual species that share and shape human habitats; it demarcates the passage of time shared between seemingly disparate animals - human a

Prepared specimens prior to installation. Reclaimed insect bodies, 24 carat gold leaf, entomology pins.

Monument V, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, in Rewilding: David Suzuki Foundation Rewilding Arts Prize , 2023.

Monument II, Art Gallery of Peterborough, in Glimmers of the Radiant Real, 2018.

Monument Installation, “Glimmers of the Radiant Real,” Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2018 (Image: Sam Mogelonsky).

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Monument is the culmination of a five year process of collecting, pinning, and gilding insects found within and around domestic spaces. The use of gold draws attention to the beautiful and complex structures of the insect body - the veins in the win

Arranging them in constellated patterns determined by maps made of the spaces where the bodies are found (light fixtures, window sills, nearby sidewalks, etc.) is a nod to particular relationships between animal science, mythology, economics, ritual

Conversely, 'Monument' is an acknowledgement of the agency of the non-human world by drawing attention to the actual species that share and shape human habitats; it demarcates the passage of time shared between seemingly disparate animals - human a

Prepared specimens prior to installation. Reclaimed insect bodies, 24 carat gold leaf, entomology pins.

Monument V, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, in Rewilding: David Suzuki Foundation Rewilding Arts Prize , 2023.

Monument II, Art Gallery of Peterborough, in Glimmers of the Radiant Real, 2018.

Monument Installation, “Glimmers of the Radiant Real,” Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2018 (Image: Sam Mogelonsky).

Cole Swanson acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.