The Hissing Folly

The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) is pleased to present The Hissing Folly by Cole Swanson.

The 2020 iteration of the VAC Loft Gallery Commission will feature an installation by Canadian artist, Cole Swanson. Swanson’s ongoing body of work examines biosystems in direct negotiation with human life at a time of unprecedented social, political, and environmental change. The Hissing Folly looks at Durham Region’s ecological landscape and poses critical questions around human relationships with invasive species, specifically phragmites (European common reed). Phragmites is a perennial grass that spreads quickly and out-competes native species for water and nutrients. This plant has been damaging ecosystems in Ontario for decades including areas of Clarington and the wider Durham Region.

Working with the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA), this collaborative project includes the collection and removal of phragmites from the Thickson’s Woods Land Trust of Durham Region. In an effort to contribute to the control of phragmites in this ecologically sensitive area, the harvest will become part of a multidisciplinary installation in the VAC’s Loft Gallery. Using the centuries-long tradition of thatching, Swanson employs a low-cost and ecological method of using local vegetation to build roofs as the main method to build his structure. The resulting construct is a folly; designed primarily for decoration, while suggesting a greater purpose through its appearance.

The Hissing Folly considers phragmites as a historically valuable construction material with creative potential compared to its adverse effects on biodiversity in Canada. The project embodies the colonial, consumer, and cultural systems responsible for the passage of phragmites from Europe to North America, reflecting on the dissonance between the generative and destructive capacities of organisms mediated by human values and activities.

Biographies

Cole Swanson’s cross-disciplinary artistic practice spans over 15 years. Using sound, installation, painting, and sculpture his work explores interspecies relationships as they relate to complex coevolutionary systems. Swanson holds a BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph and an MA in Art History from the University of Toronto. His work has been exhibited in exhibitions in Canada and international venues across four continents. He is a two-time national fellowship winner through the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (2007, 2014) for his research on miniature paintings and Jaipur school fresco techniques in Rajasthan.

Sandy Saad-Smith is a curator and writer. Much of her work considers the ways in which artists disrupt and subvert hierarchical systems and narratives. Her curatorial practice aims to create more accessible and meaningful ways of engaging with art and asking questions. Sandy has over a decade of experience working in museums and galleries and is a former Curator of Exhibitions and Education at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington. Sandy holds a Master of Visual Studies from the University of Toronto and is currently the Curator at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto, Scarborough.