Ron Benner

Ron Benner with tropical waterlilies at Museum London's photographic /garden installation, As The Crow Flies, 2020. Photo Credit: Jamelie Hassan

Ron Benner is an internationally recognized, London, Ontario-based artist whose longstanding practice investigates the history and political economics of food cultures. Ron originally studied agriculture engineering at the University of Guelph. Finding himself ethically opposed to bioengineering, he began to travel and research the politics of plants and food. Ron was one of the founders of the Embassy Cultural House. Please visit his website for more information.

Earth Day 2021: Stop Extinction! Restore the Earth

Ron Benner, "Remains in association with...", digital colour print, 2021

Artist Statement: The dried grains, seeds and vegetables in the photograph are from Asia, Africa, Southern Europe and the Americas: rice, sorghum, chickpeas, lentils, chili peppers, beans, maize, etc. representing a biodiversity reaching back in time to when humans first began to farm wild plants about 10,000 years ago. The cultural deposits, ceramic and glass shards, were found in the soils of Iraq, Jordan, Mexico, and Turtle Island/Canada by myself, Jamelie Hassan and William Kingfisher. As cultures have disappeared so have many of the plant varieties that sustained them for thousands of years. The loss of biodiversity affects us all.

US Elections 2020: Hiding in Plain Sight

Ron Benner, "Trans/mission: November 17, 2019", 2020; Digital print & mixed media - Oaxacan cochineal & lime juice on watercolour paper

Artist Statement: November 17, 2019. I couldn't get it out of my head. "A transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government". It was a reverberating echo. It was there for months.
In 1992, I returned to Oaxaca, Mexico to research the natural colours of indigo, a translucent blue and cochineal, a deep red, that have been used by indigenous peoples of that region for thousands of years. At that time I began a series of works that continue to this day which also involved return trips to Oaxaca in 2012 and an exhibition at the Biblioteca Henestrosa in 2013. The exhibition included a presentation of related works from my research into native American economic plants and watercolours created in the Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca.
October 8, 2020. I found the Mexican stencils I had used 28 years ago, ground up the cochineal insects, squeezed the limes and mixed them together. I went to work. It was no longer only in my head. It's in yours too.