firstsite contemporary art colchester

Mark Dion, Ichthyosaur, 2003

5 November – 10 December 2005
Mark Dion
Microcosmographia

This amazing show featured artworks by leading American modern artist Mark Dion in his first solo show in the UK since 1997.

Dion is known for his eclectic projects both within and outside
galleries. His work reflects science. Archaeology and biology have both fallen under his kaleidoscopic magnifier.

The arrangement in firstsite of Dion's huge creatures and fantastic visions from the natural world were used to explore the evolution of natural history.

Microcosmographia was earlier installed at the South London Gallery.

There the SLG's Secret Garden saw a new site-specific and evolving commission for the SLG, The Secret Garden Biological Field Unit.

At firstsite however the centre piece of the exhibition was a life-sized replica of a beached prehistoric aquatic animal, known as Ichthyosaur, with relics from the history of the natural sciences spilling from its belly.

This fish like creature, measuring three metres in length, was considered to be the T-Rex of the sea and when Ichthyosaur fossils were discovered it prompted argument between Victorian scientists over its genealogy. It is important to Dion as it represents an example of evolutionary convergance; the reptile takes up the role currently occupied by the dolphion as top marine predator and both assume similar, yet completely unrelated, forms.

While the Ichthyosaur dominated the downstairs during the exhibition the upstairs was the province of an entirely different beast.

The huge hanging mole dragged reactions out of vistors to the gallery. Many refused to stay in the same room as it, others said it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.Others still felt both of these reactions with equal vigour.

What they may not have appreciated was the reasoning for the mole crawling with beetles, or Les Necrophores L'Enterrement as the piece was called.

The breathtaking work is a homage to Jean Henri Fabre and to this untrained nineteenth-century scholar who set out to prove the intelligence of insects through a series of bizarre experiments.

One study for which he was particularly renown was to set beetles onto dead moles in order to observe the insects' innate ability to always crawl to the head of the suspended, dead, mole and thus, apparently, prove the insects' intellegence.

Previous work from Dion include the Tate Thames Dig, 2000, and Rescue Archaeology, 2004 for MOMA, New York.

The great Thames Dig involved looking at relics from a section
across the river.

Dion is involved in projects with the Bureau for the Centre for the Study of Surrealism and its Legacies at the Manchester Museum, using the Centre's archives to create a fictional office for the Surrealists, and the design and build of a bear enclosure, commissioned by Dundee Zoo and Dundee Contemporary Art.

Exhibition organised by South London Gallery

Download Mark Dion Teachers' Tools (300kb Word doc)

	Mark Dion, Ichthyosaur, 2003 5 November – 10 December 2005 Mark Dion Microcosmographia This amazing show featured artworks by leading American modern artist Mark Dion in his first solo show in the UK since 1997. Dion is known for his eclectic projects both within and outside galleries. His work reflects science. Archaeology and biology have both fallen under his kaleidoscopic magnifier. The arrangement in firstsite of Dion's huge creatures and fantastic visions from the natural world were used to explore the evolution of natural history. Microcosmographia was earlier installed at the South London Gallery. There the SLG's Secret Garden saw a new site-specific and evolving commission for the SLG, The Secret Garden Biological Field Unit. At firstsite however the centre piece of the exhibition was a life-sized replica of a beached prehistoric aquatic animal, known as Ichthyosaur, with relics from the history of the natural sciences spilling from its belly. This fish like creature, measuring three metres in length, was considered to be the T-Rex of the sea and when Ichthyosaur fossils were discovered it prompted argument between Victorian scientists over its genealogy. It is important to Dion as it represents an example of evolutionary convergance; the reptile takes up the role currently occupied by the dolphion as top marine predator and both assume similar, yet completely unrelated, forms. While the Ichthyosaur dominated the downstairs during the exhibition the upstairs was the province of an entirely different beast. The huge hanging mole dragged reactions out of vistors to the gallery. Many refused to stay in the same room as it, others said it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.Others still felt both of these reactions with equal vigour. What they may not have appreciated was the reasoning for the mole crawling with beetles, or Les Necrophores L'Enterrement as the piece was called. The breathtaking work is a homage to Jean Henri Fabre and to this untrained nineteenth-century scholar who set out to prove the intelligence of insects through a series of bizarre experiments. One study for which he was particularly renown was to set beetles onto dead moles in order to observe the insects' innate ability to always crawl to the head of the suspended, dead, mole and thus, apparently, prove the insects' intellegence. Previous work from Dion include the Tate Thames Dig, 2000, and Rescue Archaeology, 2004 for MOMA, New York. The great Thames Dig involved looking at relics from a section across the river. Dion is involved in projects with the Bureau for the Centre for the Study of Surrealism and its Legacies at the Manchester Museum, using the Centre's archives to create a fictional office for the Surrealists, and the design and build of a bear enclosure, commissioned by Dundee Zoo and Dundee Contemporary Art. Exhibition organised by South London Gallery Download Mark Dion Teachers' Tools (300kb Word doc)