Dear Enemy
by Christy Gast + Ensayos
September 28 – October 10, 2015
Research in Tierra Del Fuego, Chile
Residency at The Institute for Art and Olfaction
AN ARTIST, A CURATOR, A BIOLOGIST AND AN ECOLOGIST TEAM UP TO CREATE A PERFUME DESIGNED TO HELP HUMANS COMMUNICATE WITH THE BEAVER POPULATION IN TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
The Institute for Art and Olfaction is pleased to present Dear Enemy, a project by artist Christy Gast and collaborators from ENSAYOS including curator Camila Marambio, ecologist Derek Corcoran and biologist Giorgia Graells.
This project came as a result of a collaborative inquiry about how to communicate with the invasive Canadian beavers to be found on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, so as to include them in the decision making process about their own endangered future on the islands. The Dear Enemy Effect is a behavioral phenomenon observed in animals who are less aggressive to neighbors with whom they have clearly established boundaries.
This project is being created through ENSAYOS – a research and residency program in Tierra del Fuego, and a grant from the Art Matters Foundation.
Updates and more on website: http://artandolfaction.com/projects/beavers/