Jul 1, 2023 to Jan 7, 2024
Among The Drupes (Elegy For A Wasteland)
About the Exhibition
In 2022, the Varley Art Gallery invited Cole Swanson to create new work in response to field sketches by F. H. Varley. Two years earlier, the gallery had received a transfer of over 400 drawings from the Art Gallery of Ontario, and we were excited for contemporary artists to engage with this material in order to bring it new life. Swanson was immediately drawn to several works by Varley in our collection that depict sumac. They reminded him of a site on the West Toronto Rail Path where groves of sumac line the walkways. In his practice, the artist engages with the natural world and the many ways through which it comes into contact with the built environment. This urban wilderness inspires him to consider the various species that surround us. Whether they be vegetal, animal, or human, these entities can’t be considered as separate from each other, and are in fact all closely intertwined. As one encroaches on the other, we must all adapt to survive.
Over the past eight months, Swanson developed a relationship with the sumac grove on the rail path, spending time with and caring for the site. Knowing that the trees are in the process of disappearing due to rail line expansion, the artist wanted to capture the life that has been growing there. This exhibition is the result of his research and engagement, and is comprised of multiple components. On view are a selection of drawings by F. H. Varley that are interspersed in the gallery. The videos on display give us a glimpse of the rail site over time, and demonstrate how the artist created art materials from the ecosystem found on its path. In the gallery, the artist uses these naturally sourced media, and other materials, to recreate the grove and its surroundings, including the graffiti that has accumulated over the years. Outside the gallery window, you can see sumac saplings transplanted from the Toronto grove to Toogood Pond Park. Introduced in spring 2023, these trees will allow the grove to live on, even after the destruction of its earlier site.
Curated by Anik Glaude in collaboration with Aditi Desai, John Abrams, and Niamh O’Laoghaire.
About the Artist
Cole Swanson is a multispecies artist and educator based in Toronto, Ontario. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has participated in artist residencies, guest lectures, and workshops abroad. He is a Professor in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts, Humber College ITAL, and is currently a PhD student of Environmental Studies at York University. Through a multidisciplinary, collaborative, and materially-focused practice, Swanson explores the complex relationships emerging among species living together in tension at a critical ecological moment.
