FASTWÜRMS is a Canadian artist collective based in Toronto and Creemore. Founded in 1979, FASTWÜRMS originally had three members: Kim Kozzi, born Kim Kozolanka in Ottawa, Ontario, 1955, Dai Skuse born David Skuse in Oldham, England, 1955, and Napo B. born Napoleon Brousseau in Ottawa, Ontario, 1950. The collective was employed as security guards at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa prior to moving to Toronto in 1980. In the mid-1980s, Napo B. moved to NYC and formally left the collective in 1991. Kozzi and Skuse have continued to work in Toronto as FASTWÜRMS.

Career

In 1981 FASTWÜRMS began exhibiting at The Ydessa Gallery in Toronto. They are currently represented by Paul Petro Contemporary. Kozzi and Skuse have exhibited internationally, taught at the

Toronto School of Art The Toronto School of Art is an independent non-profit art school in Toronto teaching painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and digital arts. After fifty years of operating out of rental facilities, the school acquired ownership of a buildi ...

and OCAD and are currently Associate Professors of Studio Art in the School of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Guelph.

Work

FASTWÜRMS describes the focus of their art as social exchange and

relational aesthetics Relational art or relational aesthetics is a mode or tendency in fine art practice originally observed and highlighted by French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud. Bourriaud defined the approach as "a set of artistic practices which take as their theor ...

. Their artwork is multidisciplinary, including video, installation, and performance art. It concerns working class aesthetics, queer politics and witch positivity.

Major exhibitions

FASTWÜRMS' have exhibited at several institutions in Canada and internationally. Recent notable solo exhibitions include ''#Q33R_WTCH_P155'' (2017) at Oakville Galleries in Oakville, Ontario; ''Unicorn Tip'' at Rodman Hall Art Centre, Brock University

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

;''DONKY@NINJA@WITCH:A Living Retrospective''at the Art Gallery of York University, Toronto (2007), Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver) (2008), and Plug In ICI, Winnipeg (2008).

Public art

FASTWÜRMS' permanent public art sculptures include ''Ex Ovo Omnia'' at the

Art Gallery of Guelph The Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG), formerly the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, is a public gallery and adjoining sculpture park in Guelph, Ontario. The AGG has a collection of over 9,000 works and focusses on research, publishing, educational progra ...

; '' Woodpecker Column'' at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre; ''Monoceros'' at Liberty Village in Toronto; and a large sculpture of a gryphon at the entrance of University of Guelph.

''Monoceros''

''Monoceros'' is a public art piece by FASTWÜRMS currently installed in Liberty Village. This piece comes in the form of a giant bronze frog and narwhal tusk/unicorn's horn, a pair called Monoceros. According to FASTWÜRMS the work is "based on the Tetraploid Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and the took or 'tusk' of the

Narwhal The narwhal, also known as a narwhale (''Monodon monoceros''), is a medium-sized toothed whale that possesses a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth. It lives year-round in the Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada and Russia. It is o ...

(Monodon monoceros). In medieval Europe, rare and valuable Narwhal tusks were accepted as proof positive for the existence of the magical Unicorn. The Unicorn and the Frog are both powerful icons from traditional and popular culture. They promise protection, good health, prosperity and wealth. Invest in natural wealth and the health of Narwhals and Frogs, tryst with reciprocal coexistence, and the Monoceros gyre of good fortune and good luck is yours to share." ''Monoceros tusk is 37 feet high, and has an 11-foot diameter 'moon disc'. Along the Narwhal's tusk, a groove filled with crushed stone, detailed polliwogs, and tadpoles develops into frogs swimming upstream through a river of ancient coins, symbolic of health and wealth.

Awards

Awarded the 2023

Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are annual awards for achievements in visual and media arts in Canada. Up to eight awards are presented annually with the prize amount is $25,000 Created in 2000 by then Governor General Adrie ...

for Artistic Achievement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FASTWURMS Art duos Canadian artist groups and collectives Performing groups established in 1979 Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts