Playful, humorous and visually captivating, 'A Joyful Parasite' reflects The Burton's commitment to bringing ambitious contemporary art and distinctive artistic voices to North Devon. Saelia draws on folk mythologies, biology and science fiction to create imagined worlds where the boundaries between humans, animals and plants begin to dissolve. Often working with reclaimed materials, she invites us to think differently about care, coexistence and the ways living things adapt and thrive.
Commissioned by Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, in partnership with Southwark Park Galleries, London, and The Burton, 'A Joyful Parasite' marks an important moment in The Burton's programme. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting ambitious new commissions and ensuring that significant contemporary art is developed and experienced across the UK.
Harriet Cooper, Director of The Burton at Bideford, said: "Supporting artists to realise ambitious new work is an important part of what we do at The Burton. Through this partnership, we're delighted to bring Saelia's work to North Devon, giving audiences the chance to experience a major new commission they might otherwise have to travel elsewhere to see. What makes her work so compelling is the way it combines humour, imagination and beautifully crafted sculpture with ideas that feel deeply relevant today. It's full of warmth, curiosity and generosity, inviting us to see the natural world—and our place within it—with fresh eyes."
The title, 'A Joyful Parasite', asks us to reconsider how we value different forms of life. Inspired by the hierarchies humans often place on the natural world, Saelia imagines the perspective of a parasite—simply living the life it is meant to live. Rather than dividing the world into useful and harmful, welcome and unwelcome, the exhibition encourages us to think more generously about coexistence and the many ways living things support, depend upon and adapt to one another.
At the heart of the exhibition are three sculptural characters inspired by the butterfly’s life cycle: the caterpillar, the chrysalis and the butterfly. Together they represent different stages of transformation, offering a simple and universal metaphor for change. Visitors move through a landscape of hybrid figures that appear joyful, vulnerable and constantly evolving. Humour and tenderness sit alongside moments of unease, creating an exhibition that is both welcoming and thought-provoking.
Plants and flowers weave throughout the exhibition as symbols of identity, belonging and place. National flowers occupy positions of pride hanging from the ceiling, while overlooked plants and so-called weeds quietly flourish at the edges. Saelia is interested in how the same plant can be understood differently depending on where it grows: rhododendron ponticum is native to parts of Spain where it is now endangered, while in Britain it is widely established as an invasive species. These shifting perspectives ask us to reconsider how we define belonging and remind us that the meaning of a place—and of the life within it—is always changing.
Presented in North Devon, within the UNESCO Biosphere that stretches from the River Torridge to the surrounding coast and countryside, 'A Joyful Parasite' feels especially resonant. In a landscape shaped by the close relationship between natural systems and human activity, The Burton is a place where conversations about ecology and belonging feel especially immediate. At a time when these themes continue to shape public life, Saelia offers a hopeful response, celebrating resilience, coexistence and the possibility of flourishing in unexpected places.
Saelia Aparicio said: "Every living being just wants to live more and wants a better life. Communities aren't only a human thing—plants, animals and every living being want to thrive too. That's where the idea of 'A Joyful Parasite' comes from."
Rich with unexpected encounters, moments of wonder and playful discovery, 'A Joyful Parasite' invites visitors of all ages to look more closely at the living world and discover that transformation often begins with changing the way we see one another.
Installation View. 'Saelia Aparicio, A Joyful Parasite at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art ©️Saelia Aparicio -Photo Reece Straw(All rights Reserved)
‘Saelia Aparicio: A Joyful Parasite’ runs from 1 st August – 4th October 2026 at The Burton at Bideford, Kingsley Road, Bideford EX39 2QQ. Free entry. For more details see www.theburton.org or get in touch at info@theburton.org.
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Exhibition Credit/Artist Biography
