In response to the Government of Ontario’s emergency province-wide lockdown, the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) will be closed until further notice. 

The Loft Gallery Commission:
The Hissing Folly by Cole Swanson
Curated by Sandy Saad-Smith

​February 2 - February 7, 2021
​Opening reception: February 2, 2020, 2-4 PM

Documentation from the phragmites harvest at Thickson’s Woods Land Trust, 2019. Photo by Jamie A. McMillan.
The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington is pleased to present The Loft Gallery Commission: 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.
Before visiting the VAC, please read our guidelines to learn more about the protocols  we are asking our visitors to follow to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

About the artist

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. ​

Exhibition Programming:
The Hissing Folly catalogue launch and artist talk
Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 7:30pm, EST

Join us on Zoom for an intimate discussion with Cole Swanson and Curator Sandy Saad Smith.  Live from the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Swanson and Smith will discuss excerpts from the catalogue essays, the relationship between human and non-human species such as phragmites australis, followed by a Q&A session moderated by Assistant Curator Noor Alé.

The Hissing Folly catalogue

The Hissing Folly catalogue features essays from Helen Gregory, Ph.D and Darryn Doull, photography by Toni Hafkenscheid, a foreword by curator Sandy Saad Smith and was edited by John Oughton. Comprised of 72 pages, this full-colour catalogue with gold foil was printed using environmentally friendly products by Neenah, Grocer Kraft Raw (cover) and 80lb Rolland Enviro (inside pages).

Order the printed catalogue online and have it delivered to your home for $15 (includes shipping). 
​The catalogue is also available to purchase in-person at the VAC office for $10.
​For deliveries outside of North America, please contact office@vac.ca.
To download the accessible PDF version of the catalogue, click here.

About the Loft Gallery Commission

The Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) is a public art gallery that operates out of a 1904 historic barley mill. The Cream of Barley Mill operated 24 hours a day to produce barley cereal that was distributed across Canada, the USA and the Commonwealth countries. The building now houses a pottery studio, a painting studio and multiple exhibition spaces including a Loft Gallery. With concrete walls, wooden beams, and vaulted ceilings, this attic space is the least altered room in the facility, lending itself to the most direct response to the site’s place and history. In 2019 the VAC launched the Loft Gallery Commission Program to activate the space and commission annual site-specific installations by contemporary artists with varying practices. ​

​Arts Education At Home Resources

While the VAC is cancelling all on-site programs due to COVID-19 protocols, our work to support our exhibiting artists and find ways to connect with our community continues. We encourage you to check out our online exhibition resources. ​Resources are courtesy of the Ontario Invasive Plant Council and Ontario.ca We are grateful to Central Lake Ontario Conservation for their knowledge and use of resources during the phragmites harvest.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

The opening reception is courtesy of our sponsor: