Bumps, how do I want to play
Winter 2024/2025
Artist Residency Guapamacátaro Art & Ecology
Maravatio México






Processing new adobe bricks from a fallen brick wall onsite; this playscape was made of a total of 65 adobe bricks with an outer layer of concrete.


The primary “invasive species” we use for fibre is Dog Strangling Vine (DSV), a plant native to Eurasia, which became the main plant that we collected with stewards in Tkaronto and Tiohtià:ke-Mooniyang-Montréal. We started to develop a relationship with DSV, hosting seven workshops and making paper from the outer-layers of the stems. We became fascinated with interspecies relationships that deepened our connection to DSV and led us to focus on monarchs. DSV is related to the native milkweed and grows in colonies which crowd out native plants and disrupt the life cycle of monarchs. Monarch caterpillars rely on milkweed to successfully reproduce because milkweed serves as a nursery for their young. When the monarchs mistakenly lay their eggs on DSV, the baby caterpillars are not able to reach maturity as butterflies and migrate to the pine-oak forests across the state of Michoacán, Mexico. 




We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.