April 11, 2008
These images and short article are part of a back-page series in On Campus News that celebrates the University of Saskatchewan art collection. Begun in 1911, the collection comprises more than 4400 objects, including many important examples from various artists and eras. OCN asked Kent Archer, director of the collection, to select and discuss the works in this series.
Joanne Bristol is an artist, writer and U of S graduate whose work explores the interplay between art, science and history, with interests related to issues of identity, creativity, pedagogy and community.
This detail of a larger installation called The Weight of Insects aligns with Bristol’s questioning of traditional hierarchical models and perceived “truths” in science. The impetus for this piece came from Bristol’s discovery that all insect species collectively weigh more than any other class in the animal kingdom. Her point of departure hovers around the fact that millions of tiny individual insects, like an artist’s gestures and ideas, can connect to create significant meaning.
The deliberate arrangement of objects within the installation suggest a number of connections and associations between objects. References to a formal entomological display tease the great taxonomies of biology. Her fictional insectoid assemblages are culturally contrived images of nature, constructed from societal detritus and cast-offs.
The simply constructed objects are accompanied by a legend, and two small books. The legend specifies a location for each object and attributes Bristol’s invented “Latin” names for each. Time Fly, for instance is the designation given to a winged object made from a toy watch.
The short books are written from the perspective of an amateur ecofeminist. They suggest philosophical and spiritual interpretations to natural life as alternatives to established western research models.
| Artist: | Joanne Bristol |
| Title: | The Weight of Insects (installation detail) |
| Date: | 1996 |
| Media: | mixed media, books, legend |
| Dimensions: | variable dimensions |
| Credit: | Collection of the University of Saskatchewan. |
| Purchased with support from the Canada Council Acquisition Assistance Program, 1999 | |
University Art Collection images
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