Jennifer Angus
Eupholus Bennetti
September 3–October 2, 2004

Eupholus Bennetti appears as a demurely patterned expanse of wallpaper. Upon closer inspection it is in fact an installation of 1680 irridescent weevils pinned to the wall with tiny drafting pins. Exploiting the viewer’s contradictory tendencies to be charmed by attractive patterns while being repulsed by “ugly” insects, Angus’ work ultimately calls into question the aesthetic categories of Western culture. Heavily influenced by East Asian cultures and their differing attitudes towards both the value of ornamentation and cultural significance of insects, “Eupholus Bennetti” and Angus’ other insect artworks invoke an openness to the foreign and an awareness of other sources of beauty.