Angela Marsh

L’état de nature

Visual Art

Saturday 29 August 2026, at 5 PM

DesPrés | Studio A — 57 Principale Street North, Sutton (Quebec)

alliances-terretres-exterieure-14AEMarsh

Biography

Based in Quebec City, the unceded territory of the Nionwentsïo, Angela E. Marsh creates projects that are the result of a search for intimate reciprocity and learning from the living. She weaves wasteland-tapestries with pioneer plants in cities across Quebec and Ontario and creates artistic installations in ecological restoration. It’s really just a love story, her wasteland-garden project on the Plains of Abraham, presented by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the subject of a monograph by Éditions d’art Sagamie, earned her the title of winner of the CALQ’s 2025 Artist in the Community Award.

Approach

In my interpretation of the work’s theme, l’État de Nature, I reflected on our socially constructed conceptions of what is wild and what is civilized. How, ultimately, they are two sides of the same coin, because the wild plants we often label as weeds are actually altruistic “citizens” of our urban landscapes: they tirelessly clean the soil and air, generously share pollen and food with animals, nourish our soils, and beautify the grey concrete.

I question the degree of “civilization” of human beings and I think of Isabelle Stengers and her prediction of a return to barbarism—defined as every man for himself, in the absence of concern and commitment to the collective well-being. As Margaret Mead said, a civilized culture is recognized by one that takes care of its sick and wounded, as evidenced by healed bones. By weaving the silhouettes of wild plants through the mesh of an antique lace curtain, I hope to blur boundaries, play with openings, and create new forms of civilizations.