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Continuous

2013-15

This exhibition is a multi-sensory experience. Floor-to-ceiling
linocut panels surround the audience in a paper beehive.
Augmented by the sound of buzzing bees and the scent of beeswax, the installation
was created using a linocut print method on some 1,200 square feet of mulberry paper.

Each panel is

108 x 27.5”, 270 x 70cm

Video of Installation - Link

Video of Installation (2) - Link

Video of Artist Talk - Link

Timelapse of Installation - Link

Link: The Making of Continuous

Artist Statement

As humans, as animals, we are here to procreate, just like the bees.  Humans fill the remainder with goals, dreams and experiences far beyond procreation.  Is denying procreation counter intuitive, or is it a survival strategy just like the 1000’s of bees in the hive that do not reproduce? For bees it is about survival of the species, for humans it is so much more than just survival. There exists a cycle where one goal ends and another begins, one dream dies and another begins. Is goal setting an instinctual process or is it programmed due to experiences? Are we forced biologically to look for a new way when the old one is either completed or impossible? One bee begins where another left off, moving on instinct, awareness so engrained that the same activities, reactions and cycles occur for centuries.

Life is a continuous cycle of growing and changing, no matter who you are or where you live. Nothing is static. Nothing stays the same. Change is a constant in this evolving world in which we live. There is, however a commonality amongst animals and insects to produce enough offspring to continue the species and combat the changes in the environment. Bees coalesce in the hive forming a unified machine that can withstand almost everything, even human intervention.

Enduring, surviving and living all ring true on the continuous survival cycle.  The economics of energy is fine tuned to produce on a continuous cycle in the various ecosystems.  A continuous circle of cooperation exists in the cycle of survival that is ordered and industrious.

The silence of beginning again, starting over, can be deafening. The hum of continuing, moving forward, persevering, in an endless quest to survive and remain part of the unbroken whole of the world can create a similar deafening sound; deafening in the possibility of a flaw in the absolute way of survival.  Continuing and beginning are similar, but yet different. The difference lies in keeping motivated and engaging motivation.

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En tant qu'êtres humains, en tant qu'animaux, nous sommes ici pour procréer, tout comme les abeilles. Les humains remplissent le reste d'objectifs, de rêves et d'expériences bien au-delà de la procréation. Nier la procréation est-il intuitif ou s’agit-il d’une stratégie de survie au même titre que le millier d’abeilles dans la ruche qui ne se reproduisent pas? Pour les abeilles, il s'agit de la survie de l'espèce. Pour l'homme, il s'agit bien plus que de la simple survie. Il existe un cycle où un objectif se termine et un autre commence, un rêve meurt et un autre commence. L'établissement d'objectifs est-il un processus instinctif ou est-il programmé en raison d'expériences? Sommes-nous obligés biologiquement de chercher une nouvelle voie lorsque l'ancienne est terminée ou impossible? Une abeille commence là où une autre s'est arrêtée, se déplaçant instinctivement, avec une conscience tellement ancrée que les mêmes activités, réactions et cycles se répètent pendant des siècles.

La vie est un cycle continu de croissance et de changement, peu importe qui vous êtes et où que vous habitiez. Rien n'est statique. Rien ne reste pareil. Le changement est une constante dans ce monde en évolution dans lequel nous vivons. Il existe cependant un point commun entre les animaux et les insectes pour produire suffisamment de progéniture pour continuer l'espèce et lutter contre les changements de l'environnement. Les abeilles se fondent dans la ruche pour former une machine unifiée capable de résister à presque tout, même aux interventions humaines.

Résister, survivre et vivre tous sont vrais dans le cycle de survie continu. L'économie de l'énergie est adaptée pour produire sur un cycle continu dans les divers écosystèmes. Un cercle continu de coopération existe dans le cycle de survie ordonné et industrieux.

Le silence de recommencer, de recommencer, peut être assourdissant. Le bourdonnement de continuer, d’aller de l’avant, de persévérer, dans une quête sans fin pour survivre et continuer à faire partie de l’ensemble ininterrompu du monde peut créer un son assourdissant similaire; assourdissant dans la possibilité d’une faille dans le mode absolu de survie. Continuer et commencer sont similaires, mais pourtant différents. La différence réside dans le maintien de la motivation et de la motivation.

 

 

 

 

Previous and Upcoming Installations

Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA - Boston Printmakers 2015 (selected pieces)
The Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association Annual Exhibition. Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeong Hui Gung Annex Bldg. Seoul, South Korea 2015 (selected piece)
Artspace- at Untitled, Oklahoma City, OK, United States, 2015 (selected piecs)
Florida State College at Jacksonville, FL, United States 2018 (selected piece)
Carberry Fine Art Gallery, Springfield, MA, United States 2018 (selected piece)
Okotoks Art Gallery - Okotoks, AB- 2015
Kootenay Art Gallery - Castlegar, BC- 2015
Sask Craft Council - Saskatoon, SK- 2016
Humboldt Art Gallery - Humboldt, SK - 2018
Strasbourg Museum - Strasbourg, SK - 2018
Art Gallery of Grande Prairie - Grande Prairie Art Gallery - 2018
Artpoint Gallery - Calgary - 2018
Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre - Regina Beach, SK 2019
Ottawa School of Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON - 2019
ODD Gallery - Dawson City, Yukon
Print Art Reserach Centre- Seoul Korea - 2020
Craft Council Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador - St John's NL
Nova Scotia Center for Art and Design - 2021

 

 


 

 

Mary E Black Gallery

Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design

2021

 

phot credit - Mary E Black Gallery

 
   
   
     
     
     
 

Ottawa School of Art Gallery

2019

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

 

Installation - Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre

2019

   
     
     
     

 

 

 

Installation - Artpoint Gallery - Calgary 2018

 

   
 

 

 

Installation Grande Prairie Art Gallery as part of the Group Exhibition - Memory Landscape

Curated by Derrick Chang

Memory Landscape: Agricultural + Ecological

The installation of Continuous by Monique Martin brings us into a larger than life relationship with the microcosm of a bee colony. The Peace Country represents a hive of activity for the national interest in both the economic and agricultural health of the region. Through a measured experience of time and architectural space, each panel illustrates the gradual collapse of a fragile ecosystem.

The honeycomb represents one of the most resilient structures in nature. However, it is the delicate link between agriculture and ecology which links our own connections to community and care for the environment together. This experience of local industry is further activated by the noise of colony productivity and the smell of beeswax.

 

 

 

   

Continuous Installation - Humboldt Museum and Art Gallery

 
   
   
   

 

 

Continuous Installation at Saskatchewan Craft Council

24 ft woodcut

Interactive beehive with moveable panels that tessellate

The lifecycle of the bee created using a reductive linocut technique and dipped in beeswax, suspended from a beehive frame.

   
     

 

Installation Kootenay Art Gallery - Castlegar, BC

 

   
     

 

 

 

Installation Okotoks Art Gallery - Okotoks, Alberta