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
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. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 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.
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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 |
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Ottawa School of Art Gallery 2019 |
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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 |
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Interactive beehive with moveable panels that tessellate |
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The lifecycle of the bee created using a reductive linocut technique and dipped in beeswax, suspended from a beehive frame. |
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Installation Kootenay Art Gallery - Castlegar, BC
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Installation Okotoks Art Gallery - Okotoks, Alberta
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