Andrew Ranville: No Island is a Man

Part of an often-referenced 17th century prose states, “No man is an island entire of itself … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind”. The artist residency on Rabbit Island takes an opposing view. It is a view of just how insignificant mankind is. Immersed in the environment of Rabbit Island — its flora and fauna — I experience no mythical spirit or ethereal presence. I experience the island as the physical, tangible, and finite place it is and always will be.
— Andrew Ranville

The DeVos Art Museum is presenting the first of an annual series of exhibitions in partnership with the newly established Rabbit Island artist in residence program. The 91-acre Island is located in Lake Superior off the Keweenaw Peninsula and has never been developed with the exception of a small log structure built by a fisherman in the 1800s. Though the island itself is privately owned, the Keweenaw Land Trust holds the vast majority of the island’s development rights under conservation easement.

After spending over a month on the island last summer, Michigan born and London-based artist Andrew Ranville will return to Rabbit Island to become the first official artist in residence, creating work for the exhibition at the DeVos Art Museum. The exhibition will contain photography, video, sculpture and sound recordings made by Ranville, giving a feel for what it might be like to spend an extended period of time on the island.

After spending over a month on the island last summer, Michigan born and London-based artist Andrew Ranville will return to Rabbit Island to become the first official A full-color, fully illustrated catalogue will be published in conjunction with the exhibition with essays by writer and curator Nadim Samman, artist Andrew Ranville, Rabbit Island residency founder Rob Gorski and DeVos Art Museum director and curator Melissa Matuscak. A limited edition artifact kit will be available containing the exhibition catalogue with field recordings and photographs from the island. Sales of the kits will benefit the Keweenaw Land Trust and the Superior Watershed Partnership.