With All Our Vernal Suns offers a vision of time and space that collapses the distances between the cosmic and the intimate, between the vast and the minute. Through carved and cast elements, Feniak invites us to a meditation on recurrent cycles—the slow tilt of the Earth towards and away from the sun, the flutter of wings that mark the seasons, and the quiet rituals of life that pulse through every living thing. Here, time is not measured in rigid, linear progression but in delicate, interrelated, rhythmic cycles.  

At the heart of the installation lies a monumental wooden chain; its links have been slowly carved to resemble various species of moths and butterflies. The chain’s Cuban link form, traditionally a symbol of strength and power, is transformed into an unexpected vessel for the ephemeral—an eclipse of moths, or kaleidoscope of butterflies—symbolic of the potency of the small, momentary, and fleeting. Their fragile bodies, committed to wood, challenge a conventional understanding of scale, and the linked form and weight of the chain describes a passage through time that is repeating in interlinked cycles. 

Surrounding the chain, a field of miniature suns cast from bismuth bloom like flowers in silvery, iridescent hues; their vibrant, oxidized colours the result of an alchemy of heat and oxygen. The suns’ forms draw from a deep engagement with cultural symbols of continuity, such as the meander motif used in Ukrainian pysanky, which serves as a visual language for eternity. For Feniak, the “eternal line” of the meander reflects the rolling motion of the Earth’s orbit, a perpetual cycle of birth and renewal that mirrors the passage of time in both celestial and human forms. 

Drawing inspiration from Byung-Chul Han’s The Disappearance of Rituals, Feniak considers how the accelerating pace of contemporary life has eroded the rituals that once anchored us in time and space. In contrast. With All Our Vernal Suns envisions the seasonal rhythms of the Earth itself as an interconnected chain of rites that persist in governing the natural world—including us humans. The elements of this work suggest time is not fragmented or accelerated, but remains part of a sacred, life-affirming ritual. 

In the weight of the chain, the fragility of the moths and butterflies, and the radiance of the miniature suns, Feniak’s installation conjures a poetic reflection on time as both fleeting and eternal. It asks us to consider how the smallest, most delicate moments—like the brief flash of a butterfly’s wings—can open us to a deeper understanding of time, of ritual, and of the boundless cycles that shape all life.  

This work was produced with support from Johnathan Onyschuk.

The artist acknowledges the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.