The 2014 Rabbit Island Residency Exhibition Catalogue was designed by Edwin Carter and published by the DeVos Art Museum. It is a beautiful collection offering a concise window into the experiences of six artists who spent time on Rabbit Island in the summer of 2014. The full color, limited run catalogue features work and essays by Elvia Wilk, Nich McElroy, Nicholas Brown, Dylan Miner, Suzanne Morrissette, and Julie Nagam.

The tone set by these artists’ interpretations is varied–terse, hopeful, exasperated, celebratory, critical, introspective–yet the common denominator of residence allows one to gaze into daily life and the creation of art on Lake Superior, isolated from the noise of civilization. Each artist expresses conclusions as well as new questions, and several topics are particularly interesting. Elvia Wilk’s description of her experience with inclement weather while alone for several uncomfortable days, as well as her resolution, is raw and revealing. The Waboozaki group’s collective criticism of the postcolonial narrative that is common in our time, as expressed from within the cultural history that has been pushed back, is cogent, emotional and fundamental. Nich McElroy’s thoughtful photographs, made over 26 days in June and July, are subtle and evidence his shifting emotions while in residence. This newest publication thus adds a chapter to our evolving story as Rabbit Island continues to exist in the lake, unchanged by man as a matter of morality, culture and principle. We encourage you to take the time to download it, and especially to read the essays critically. 

Download the 2014 Exhibition Catalogue here (PDF, 18.5 MB.)

Physical copies of the catalog were printed in a run of 150. The majority of these were distributed free of charge to the public who visited the exhibition. A small number of catalogs are still available from our online store. All proceeds beyond the nominal cost of administrating the store will be placed in a Rabbit Island Foundation savings account and earmarked for a conservation fund dedicated to addressing issues of parcelization of our land ownership grid.