The Florida Museum of Natural History’s dueling ant statues have a new home.
“X” and “O,” which were loaned to the UF College of the Arts in 2015, were given back to Susan Cochran, the artist.
The college did not have the money to buy them, and there is currently nothing picked as their replacement.
Jennifer Coolidge, the college’s director of development and alumni affairs, said they fell in love with Cochran’s work after meeting her, and they appreciated the marriage of art and science portrayed in the piece.
Cochran’s intent was for the statues to show two ants mating. However, Darcie MacMahon, the director of exhibits and public programs at the Florida Museum, said that is not the case.
“While we don’t know the specific species of ants, you can tell from the sculptures and their postures that they would have been queens who were fighting,” she said.
Coolidge said the museum and college held movie screening events and study groups inspired by the statues, and they were a visual staple for the museum’s thousands of visitors each year.
“We were just pleased to keep them in Gainesville for a time,” she said.
The Florida Museum of Natural History’s ant statues, “X” and “O,” were given back to the artist after spending two years in Gainesville.
