Curated by Sofia Bastidas and May Makki, The Staff of Ascelpias is a social and environmental sculpture conceived by artist Erik DeLuca during his residency at the Corsicana Artist & Writers Residency. For this project, DeLuca converted his Corsicana studio into a milkweed nursery and worked along with several members of the Corsicana community to design a series of way-stations for the Monarch butterfly, including a planting of milkweed at Sweet Pass.

This planting was accompanied by a time based light and sound installation which played every day at sunrise and sunset. A horizontal white LED light sculpture was suspended above the ground - a line gesturing towards the Monarchs’ migratory path from North Mexico to Canada. Additionally, a rendition of “Sunrise and Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof, produced by DeLuca for the exhibition, played while the visitor experienced the transition from day to night or night to day.

The Staff of Ascelpias is a collaboration between SMU Pollock Gallery, Corsicana Artist & Writer Residency, RISO BAR, and SPSP.