Using insects as her primary material, Angus creates intricate patterns that mimic textiles and wallpaper. Her installations hypnotize viewers with repeating geometric patterns constructed from thousands of individual insects that span whole walls, and charm them with shoebox-sized displays featuring ornate beetles arranged in allegorical vignettes.

The Golden Hour takes its title from the period of daytime shortly before sunset, when the last rays of sunlight begin to fade. The soft, muted colors of the golden hour are simultaneously enchanting and fleeting. Angus proposes that the life we currently enjoy on this planet is in its golden hour, beautiful yet rapidly vanishing. Never before have so many unique ecosystems been open to exploration, yet neither have they ever been more threatened by deforestation and climate change. Angus warns us that should the insects that form the fabric of her exhibition vanish, we would be left not only without their beauty but also without life itself: more than three-quarters of the world’s food crops are pollinated by insects.

The Golden Hour invites visitors into a mesmerizing series of rooms, each gently lit by chandeliers, with surprising vistas emerging at each turn. Jars of insects suspended in colorful jellies glowing through hexagonal “windows”, intricate dollhouses on towering platforms, and a magnificent cabinet of curiosities housing dozens of intriguing scenes staged with insects, ranging from executions to coronations, will beckon visitors to alternatively crane their necks upwards or peer closely into tiny boxes. In the final room, guests will stumble upon a dinner party in which whimsical taxidermied animals have come to the proverbial table, seeking a way to halt the precipitous decline of global ecosystems.

Exploring the intersection of art and science is a core part of the Bruce Museum’s unique identity. The Golden Hour is a perfect example of our vision for how art and science can coalesce in thrilling and unexpected ways.

Generously sponsored by Mastercard®, CT Department of Economic and Community Development and CT Humanities, The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.

Jennifer Angus: The Golden Hour
Photo by ChiChi Ubiña

Jennifer Angus
Pantry jars from Silver Wings and Golden Scales,
in Fragile Earth: The Naturalist Impulse in Contemporary Art, 2019.
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT.
Photo by Paul Mutino