Alexandria Masse is a Canadian sculptor who primarily works with sewing, knitting and crocheting to bring to life large-scale soft sculptures. One of her most recent exhibitions, In the Garden, for which she was awarded the RBC Emerging Artists Grant from the Windsor Essex and Ontario Arts Council, sees her creating six large insects commonly found in Canadian gardens with her signature techniques. Masse found these insects in her own backyard, and her curiosity compelled her to learn more about them.
Masse found that these commonplace insects, which people often dismiss without a second thought, have a long history and a wide array of interesting facts about them. This includes whether or not they are invasive or native. Hence, the body of work celebrates the richness of Canada’s insect biodiversity, as complex insects can be found in a person’s backyard. This is why In the Garden by Alexandria Masse is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.
Each exhibited insect was also equipped with QR codes containing their stories. For example, the QR code accompanying the Colorado Potato Beetle spoke about how the invasive species originally from the Rocky Mountains was allegedly introduced into Eastern Germany, Poland and Communist Czechoslovakia by the United States. It was supposedly a form of entomological warfare that caused the ruthless destruction of potato crops in those countries, severely affecting their food supply.
These stories help familiarize people with the insects around them, which is imperative as the world sees rampant species loss to the point that scientists call it the sixth mass extinction. Insects are also undergoing a record-high biodiversity loss today, with 20 percent of their species lost in just a decade.
Alexandria Masse’s In the Garden transforms ordinary backyard insects into extraordinary soft sculptures, celebrating Canada’s rich bug biodiversity while raising awareness of these creatures' intricate roles in our ecosystems. By combining art with education, Masse invites viewers to discover the histories and stories of these insects, from their ecological significance to their cultural impact. She emphasizes the urgent need to address biodiversity loss, especially when insects face unprecedented threats of extinction.
Find out more about In the Garden and other pieces by Alexandria Masse on her website www.alexandriamasse.com or Instagram @alexandria.masse.