Detritivores
A site-specifc installation by Kat Ely
72½ Union Square
Somerville, MA 02143
Themicromuseum.com
de·tri·ti·vore noun : an organism (as an
earthworm or a fungus) that feeds on dead
and decomposing organic matter.
Ely’s exquisitely cast natural forms highlight the
beauty of objects often associated with decay –
from fallen leaves and fungus to insects and
slugs. Ely has created a site-specifc installation
in The Mµseum, in which her works will visually
revert the space back to its origins.
There is always something compelling about
bringing the outdoors inside, and “Detritivores,”
is a double-inversion of space; The Mµseum itself
takes a typically indoor space outside, while Ely’s
installation seals the outdoors within the gallery
walls. By transplanting a square foot of woods
into an urban center, Ely’s work contains a
poignant reminder of the nature we forgo for the
benefts of city life.
“Detritivores” detail
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
The installation does contain evidence of
human habitation, however; the cigarette butts
and crumpled can refect a vignette of nature in
perhaps its most familiar state. Within the city,
our green spaces are hybrid zones, containing the
ever-changing systems of living things and the
comparatively near-stagnant constants of human
detritus. If the growth, decay, and changing
states of plants and animals are a series of everundulating curves, a beer can is a straight line
through time.
their living counterparts, once discovered the
beautiful glasswork helps to bridge any initial
squeamishness to highlight the jewel-like delicacy
of the real thing.
“Detritivores” detail
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
Ely’s work quietly emphasizes the profound
efects of small change and the beauty present in
slow transformation. The pieces highlight items
that are not at all unusual, yet often pass unseen
because of their mundanity. By focusing our
attention on these things, Ely invites us to
consider the everyday in a new light, and redefne
our categories of beauty and longevity.
Judith Klausner
Curator
“Detritivores” detail
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
“Detritivores” detail
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
Ely uses her materials in “Detritivores” to play
with this relationship of stagnancy and dynamism.
The “living” components of the installation are
made from materials like resin, glass and silicone,
which will remain solid and unchanging. In
contrast, the Cigarette butts and beer can are
made of cast plaster, a material closer to its
natural state that will break down over time. If the
whole installation were to end up in a landfll, it is
the ghost fowers that would still be standing
hundreds of years from now, while the “trash”
would likely have crumbled to dust.
A focus on elements related to decomposition
might at frst glance read macabre, but that
viewpoint itself is a byproduct of modern urban
life. Our removal from the natural cycles of life
and death can obscure the beauty present in
things like fungus and insects. While the ants in
“Detritivores” blend into their surroundings like
Ironically, the most easily “beautiful” items
presented in “Detritivores” – the ghost fowers –
are actually a parasitic organism. These delicate
plants contain no chlorophyll of their own, instead
feeding of of other chlorophyll-containing
organisms. Their ghostly name and pallor are an
appropriate match for their vampiric behavior,
and yet we categorize “fowers” as items of
beauty, while many other symbiotic creatures in
the installation default to far less positive labels.
“Detritivores” overview shot
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
Special Thanks To:
Anna Pinkert for creating our audio tour
The Somerville Arts Council for their continued
support
“Detritivores” detail
[Photo credit: Steve Pomeroy}
The Independent for use of the space where The
Mµseum is located
Subway/Union Mart for use of the space where
The Mµseum is located