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Cole Swanson

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The exhibition examines the material connections between humans and cormorants as demonstrated by the birds’ collection of non-biodegradable waste materials. Devil’s Colony is a recreation of the nesting site and its dramatic shifts in ecological ac

Toronto’s Leslie Spit boasts North America’s - and perhaps the world’s - largest colony of double crested cormorants, an ancient group of highly adaptable water birds that thrive in diverse environmental conditions. The annual nesting site is situat

The Blind is an installation artwork that recreates the scientific observation blind within which environmental researchers are able to observe the world’s largest colony of double-crested cormorants at Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park. The Blind,

DCC Nest Samples is a photographic series of nests made by the cormorants at Leslie Spit. They point to the presence of anthropogenic materials in the colony, providing a glimpse into the after-life of commonplace materials. DCC Nest Samples ,

For Devil’s Colony, photos were installed in a manner that recalls the arrangement of cormorant nests at the Leslie Spit Colony.

Spit Spectre is a speculative performance artwork that muses on time, materiality, and interspecies relationships in the anthropocene. A being composed of materials found within the colony nests, it stalks the site in perpetuity. Spit Spectre (

Spit Spectre (sculpture), human and cormorant-foraged materials, textiles, PVC, and earth, 72” x 32” x 34”, 2019.

Special thanks to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) for site access and information on the colony, and to environmental biologist Dr. Gail Fraser for her mentorship and support throughout the project. Devil’s Colony has been suppo

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The exhibition examines the material connections between humans and cormorants as demonstrated by the birds’ collection of non-biodegradable waste materials. Devil’s Colony is a recreation of the nesting site and its dramatic shifts in ecological ac

Toronto’s Leslie Spit boasts North America’s - and perhaps the world’s - largest colony of double crested cormorants, an ancient group of highly adaptable water birds that thrive in diverse environmental conditions. The annual nesting site is situat

The Blind is an installation artwork that recreates the scientific observation blind within which environmental researchers are able to observe the world’s largest colony of double-crested cormorants at Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park. The Blind,

DCC Nest Samples is a photographic series of nests made by the cormorants at Leslie Spit. They point to the presence of anthropogenic materials in the colony, providing a glimpse into the after-life of commonplace materials. DCC Nest Samples ,

For Devil’s Colony, photos were installed in a manner that recalls the arrangement of cormorant nests at the Leslie Spit Colony.

Spit Spectre is a speculative performance artwork that muses on time, materiality, and interspecies relationships in the anthropocene. A being composed of materials found within the colony nests, it stalks the site in perpetuity. Spit Spectre (

Spit Spectre (sculpture), human and cormorant-foraged materials, textiles, PVC, and earth, 72” x 32” x 34”, 2019.

Special thanks to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) for site access and information on the colony, and to environmental biologist Dr. Gail Fraser for her mentorship and support throughout the project. Devil’s Colony has been suppo

Cole Swanson acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.