The Beastiarium

“They are called 'beasts' from the force with which they rage. They are called 'wild' because they enjoy their natural liberty and are borne along by their desires.” - The Aberdeen Bestiary, 12th century

In the illuminated manuscripts of medieval bestiaries, monks ordered the natural world by categories: birds, beasts, trees, stones. Before the development of modern taxonomy, these were attempts to define the immensity and complexity of nature. In this exhibition, multimedia artists Swen Swihart-Decoster (he/him) and Adam Arquilla (they/them) consider their own stable of beasts.

Both artists pull from the discipline of scientific illustration. Swihart-Decoster embroiders delicate representations of fungi and plants while Arquilla, working in ceramic sculpture and a wide range of painting techniques, binds animal parts together into strange, personal hybrids. They also draw from world mythology - large canvases include figures ranging from folkloric kobolds to the Greek serpent deity, Phanes, all drifting in and out of a thick haze. They appear alongside characters from the the inner worlds of the two creators, as well as intimate portraits that the artists painted of one another. According to Swihart-Decoster, it's an exhibition about "the duality of observing and being observed."