White Noise Syndrome

Karen Abel Baccara Collaborative Karen Abel

Hibernaculum (2012)

Cast sugar, hand-painted salvaged chandelier parts, wire - Dining Room An empire gone where all empires must go Melting away as simply as the snow ~ Richard Le Gallienne, 1913, from Spring In The Paris Catacombs

www.electricityismagic.com

During winter hibernation, cave-dwelling bats conserve energy by entering a state of reduced physiological activity called torpor. Their body temperature is lowered to match the cave climate, which causes beads of condensation to form on their fur; often resulting in a glistening, jewel-like appearance as they hang in clusters from the ceilings of caves and abandoned mines. In response to the recent decimation of North Americas bat populations due to a fatal disease called White Nose Syndrome (WNS), the United Nations has declared 2011-2012 International Year of the Bat. Hibernaculum was created in observation of this two-year global species awareness initiative. The bat forms reference the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), one of three Ontario bat species recently listed as Endangered nationally due to the unprecedented mortality caused by WNS. White Nose Syndrome is caused by Geomyces destructans, a cold-loving, white fungus native to Europe. The disease has resulted in the death of nearly 7 million bats in the eastern United States and Canada. How the non-native WNS fungus was introduced into the delicate microflora of cave ecosystems in North America where bats hibernate is currently unknown. The predominant theory is that the fungus was transported into environments occupied by bats on the shoes and clothing of spelunkers. Cast sugar sculptures replace the fixtures original decorative crystal prisms, creating an intricate biological structure akin to the cluster formations of cave-dwelling bats. With each iteration of this work, the sugar formation is expanded in length to reference the slow formation of a cave stalactite. A luxuriously macabre spectacle, Hibernaculum metaphorically illuminates a mysterious wildlife disease concealed in the darkness of hibernation. I wish to gratefully acknowledge the research support provided by the Royal Ontario Museum. Karen Abel is a Canadian artist and naturalist based in Toronto. She creates site-sensitive installation and public art works that consider, engage and accommodate 21st century urban ecology and biodiversity. Karen has received awards in support of contemporary ecological art projects including Ontario Arts Council grants for art gardens with the Ontario Science Centre and Walpole Island First Nation. www.karenabel.ca

Baccara Collaborative

Madeline Bailey / Helen Maurene Cooper Provoking Collisions (2012)

Archival Pigment Print - Living Room, White Wall

Lady in a Box (2012)

Archival Pigment on Silk - Scrim

Youre not reading my mind (2012)

Archival Pigment Print - Living Room, Blue Wall

Under Matts Stair, Take 4 (2012)

Archival Pigment Print - Living Room, Blue Wall (Corner)

Still Life 1-3 (2012)

Mixed Media - Various Household Locations Baccara is the collaboration between Madeleine Bailey and Helen Maurene Cooper. Born out of the extended and often-hilarious confusion between their artistic identities, Baccara is a Chicago-based female duo that produces photographs, works on paper, performance and video embracing artifice and the absurd through childhood games and sexual parody. Bailey and Cooper both hold their MFAs from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and have shown their work both independently and as part of Baccara at national and international venues. Most recently, Baccara participated in the Pecha Kucha event at Los Caminos Gallery in St. Louis, MO, and this summer the redheaded dragon will be on tour for a site-specific exhibition at Electricity is Magic Gallery (EiM) in Toronto, ON. www.baccara-collaborative.com