Consuming vast amounts of mosquitoes and other biting insects, bats are the first line of defense against parasitic disease carriers. Winged Defense addresses this idea of bats as our allies and protectors. In its design and materials — wood siding and terra-cotta roof tiles salvaged from Presidio structures no longer extant — this habitat for the Mexican Free-tailed Bat paid homage to the vernacular architecture of the Presidio’s military barracks.
- Installation Views
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (detail); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Mark Dion with Nitin Jayaswal, Winged Defense, 2010 (installation view); photo: Monique Deschaines
Nitin Jayaswal is an artist and designer. He is on the faculty of the School of Architecture at the University of Florida, Gainesville.
Mark Dion is known for incorporating elements of biology, archaeology, ethnography, and the history of science into his work. Traveling the world and collaborating with scientists, artists, and museums, Dion has excavated artifacts from the banks of the Thames River in London, established a marine life laboratory using specimens from New York City’s Chinatown, and created a contemporary cabinet of curiosities exploring natural and philosophical hierarchies. His work has been presented internationally at major museums.