Imaging Extinction

If a picture tells a thousand words, which thousand words? Which words might a picture hide in plain sight?

We have entered the Anthropocene Extinction Event. Species are becoming extinct at an accelerating rate. A recent UN Report stated that a further million species are threatened with extinction. Global Warming is adding to existing threats.

There is a paradox at the heart of bird photography. Never have so many images of beautiful birds been captured and yet never have so many bird species faced extinction. What are the ethics around presenting technically competent and aesthetically pleasing images of beautiful birds without also communicating that the species is vulnerable to extinction unless humans change their ways?

How might we depict extinction? How might we depict a space that used to be occupied by living birds but which is now empty? How might we depict the threats? What ethical, technical and artistic choices might bird photographers make when depicting birds, threats and extinction?

This exhibition shows how the artist seeks to resolve these issues.