Angela Devenney
2007 Biennial Talk
Run Time: 5.07
How is it that bees run such highly developed colonial societies? Why do crane flies stop eating when they reach adulthood? How is it that a caterpillar lives one life, and is reborn into another as a butterfly? How is it that such small beings have the ability to fly across oceans and continents? The role of wonder is a constant motivating force behind my art.
Pieces from this body of work are constructed from found organic materials collected in my wanderings. They are common—flies, moths, ladybugs—and often considered a nuisance, feared or ignored. Just as these insects change states throughout their lives, I continue this transformation by constructing patterns or scenes that captivate through the juxtaposition of disgust and delight. I create yet another new life for the insects.
Each insect, each material I come in contact with has a history. While finding and collecting the “specimens” and constructing images, I admire the beauty and build of each insect and ponder its demise. The force of nature’s process and rhythm, the relationships within nature, and those shared between man and nature become apparent. As humans we control, interact, and interfere with these patterns, and at the same time we remain part of this macrocosm.