artist based in NYC
Sabotage as Labor Resistance
Stigmergy - Part Two
Precarity Structures
Throw When Needed
Shift
There is Only After
Hidden Abodes
She Appears To Be a Wooden Table
Election in Which All Cows Are Black
Troubled Games
Cash Flow
The Incentive Performances
Gender Bending, The Game
Releasing the Matriarch from Odysseus
Stigmergy - Older Works
Collaborative Art Project
About + CV
nod@katiechin.com
Stigmergy in Sculpture
The following works reference stigmergy, a social mechanism for indirect communication toward collective action. Stigmergy is topic I am now revisiting in sculpture after reflecting on older bodies of performance and wall-based work.
While most often associated with hive insects like bees and ants, stigmergy is also observed in humans. Examples include bulletin boards or Reddit forums, where stigmergic communication reinforces group behaviors without individuals interacting directly. Humans frequently exhibit stigmergy digitally.
The second iteration of this work introduced interspecies collaboration. Luke Howard, a beekeeper and the founder of the Bee Collective, took parts of my original installation. He placed them in an active hive where honeybees then built honeycomb structures on top. An exhibition presented the resulting installation to raise awareness for pollinators. I consider the bees to be co-authors of this piece.
We all understood eventually…
2024
18” x 70” x 50”
Glazed and unglazed ceramic, computer keyboards, grout, sand
This piece also employs sand as a material metaphor, drawing a parallel to computer chips made of silicon—a common element found in sand. Like sand’s granular yet cohesive nature, the work reflects something fundamental about human collectivity, emphasizing the subtle but powerful forces that connect individuals within a system.
We all understood eventually… (part 2, honeybee collaboration)
2025
18” x 70” x 50”
Glazed and unglazed ceramic, honeycomb, computer keyboards, grout, sand
This work is a collaboration with honeybees and Luke Howard, a beekeeper and the founder of the Bee Collective in Columbus, Ohio.
Stigmergic Glimmer
2025
Wood fired ceramic ant hills, LED sign, sand, string lights
28” x 67” x 67”
This installation is another example of stigmergy, but referencing ants instead of bees.
The LED sign displays a loop of “directions for ants” written with navigation app language and phrases often found on digital and physical bulletin boards. The text echoes formats from Reddit posts (“Unpopular opinion but…”, “AITA?”), yard signs (“Vote Yes on Prop 87”, “Beware of Dog”), bulletin boards (“Found: Is this your cat?”, “Please don’t remove this flyer”), and other social media forums (“Are We Dating the Same Guy?”, “Stoop score”).
The ceramic ant hills and glowing digital ants were installed in a storefront as part of an artist-organized exhibition at Context Collective in Troy, NY.
The ceramic components were fired in a wood kiln.
Photography credit: Dustin Loveland
