Image credit: Cole Swanson, The Hissing Folly, installed at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, 2020. Video by Jamie McMillan.

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). The Hissing Folly film documents the process of producing the folly structure that is installed in the VAC's Loft Gallery.

About the installation

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 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.

Curated by Sandy Saad.

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

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.