We Move As A Murmuration - Timespan

We Move As A Murmuration - Timespan
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The weather in Helmsdale:
5°C
/
Broken clouds
We are open everyday 10am-5pm
Coming on March 23rd
the exhibition “We Move As A Murmuration”
brings to Timespan thirteen local and international artists. Drawing inspiration from bird flocks to reflect on the entangled relationships between humans and birds, the exhibition proposes approaches of kinship, liberation, and collective care. The exhibition features the work of artists
adrienne maree brown, Chuan Lun Wu, Disarming Design from Palestine, Edwyn Collins, Hanna Tuulikki, J. Drew Lanham, Joan Ross, Khaled Jarrar, Mamadou Tall Diedhiou, Penny Woodley, Petrit Halilaj, Sethembile Msezane, and Un/Nature.
Following the natural movement of murmurations, co-curators
Naoko Mabon
and Timespan’s director Giulia Gregnanin have developed an exhibition design that in July will “swirl” and transform with new artworks and installation arrangements to bring fresh perspectives to audiences and emphasise the themes of change and movement part of the exhibition.
Joan Ross,
Houston, we have a problem, 2021
Courtesy of the artist and N.Smith Gallery, Sydney.
The research project
We Move As A Murmuration
is the second phase of
Coastal Commons
: Timespan’s long-term arts and heritage programme. Driven by the devastation of the recent outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, commonly known as bird flu,
We Move As A Murmuration
delves into the entangled issues related to birds.
Curated
by Timespan and the freelance curator
Naoko Mabon
, the project encompasses a series of research activities, public events and an art exhibition. Collaborating with community members, scientists, activists, artists and practitioners in Helmsdale and beyond,
We Move As A Murmuration
’s timeline sympathises with the migration cycle of birds, commencing gently in autumn 2023 when winter visitors return to our shores, with an exhibition happening in spring 2024, a season when summer visitors come back again.
Drawing inspiration from
murmuration
(a large flock of birds swooping and swirling in unison) as a metaphor for collective movement and unity, the project looks at the oppression, domination and alienation of nature under capitalist, colonial, and modernist forces, addressing environmental and social justice. By moving as a murmuration, the project suggests that “the environment is us”, aiming to collectively overcome the separation between humans and nature, and challenge the
anthropocentric
hierarchy among species.
Advocating for the liberation of all, without leaving anyone behind,
We Move As A Murmuration
traverses intersecting issues including the designation of
more-than-human
species as
sacrifice zones
in
extractive capitalism
. It looks into the escalating disruption of birds’ migrations due to climate crisis, and the dominance of a white-western-male-heterosexist and settler colonialist approach to
ornithology
that used to both aestheticise, classify and master them (through
taxonomy
and
taxidermy
). It investigates the interpretation of birds as a metaphor of freedom and resistance from oppressed people. Finally, it explores the connection between bird flu and the
commodification
of the environment through intensive poultry farming, global trade and habitat destruction.
Browse some of the activities part of
We Move As A Murmuration
We Move As A Murmuration (Exhibition)
Coming Up March 23rd
Build a Bird Box Workshop
November 17th 2023
The Earth Writes Back
September 30th 2023
Nature Activities with the RSPB
September 9th 2023
Stay tuned: more information, and events will follow!
We Move As A Murmuration
is part of
Coastal Commons: Beyond North Sea Extractivism
, a long-term heritage and art programme at Timespan.
Page
Coastal Commons: Beyond North Sea Extractivism
Page
Build a bird box workshop
Event
Nature activities with the RSPB
Event
The Earth Writes Back: films, poetry & picnic
Exhibition
We Move As A Murmuration
Event
August Swirl
Event
Un/Nature Reading Group