Ryan Agnew

Photos from the Opening Reception...

Vermi Culture

at the Darwin Bicentennial

by Ryan Agnew

The IMA Gallery is pleased to present Vermi-Culture, an exhibition of new work by artist Ryan Agnew. In this incarnation, the exhibit takes place both inside and outside of The IMA Gallery. Internal to it is the miniaturized architecture of Hopkins Hall Gallery and Corridor, where the Darwin Bicentennial Show and the Vermi-Culture opening reception took place. The space is filled with dirt and a single live worm, which explores the small stomach-based space throughout the exhibit. The exhibition also included one of Agnew’s other works, a cast of his toe. Integral to the work is the exhibition guide, which explains the benefits and teaches the steps of creating a worm-bin, an alternative composting process. External to The IMA Gallery, Agnew,dressed as a worm, crawls alongside of the Gallery as they move together, allowing the Gallery to act as a mediator between worm and viewer.

This exhibit explores the role of the worm, as Darwin saw it, as a small but integral part of natural processes. It calls to mind the importance of those things that we often take for granted and find strange or unattractive. Bringing such attention to those things we find alien, bringing them into a common and public space such as an art gallery allows the unsuspecting viewers to have a new perspective and interactions with these thoughts and creatures.

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A Catalog, handmade by the artist, is available for purchase.

Please contact the gallery if you wish to order one.