BIRD REQUIEM is a series of three assemblages combining stopped clocks and watches with stuffed specimens as well as historical illustrations of North American birds. A passenger pigeon, a species extinct since 1914, finds itself perched on a wall clock without hands, whose time has stopped. In the clock is a nest, in which is sheltered an egg of the Eastern bluebird, a species whose survival was once a concern. An Eskimo curlew, a critically endangered species, is perched among broken watches. Although the curlew is not an extinct bird today, no specimen has been seen since 1963. A mantel clock, whose hands point to one minute to midnight, accompanies the specimens. The numbers have been replaced by illustrations of North American birds, also extinct, critically endangered or endangered.
The project borrows a traditional style of presentation from history museums to raise public awareness of the current issue of species loss. Through these three devices, the artist invites us to think about this worrying environmental situation.
Acknowledgment: This project is carried out with support from the territorial partnership program of the Conseil des Arts et de la culture de l’Estrie (CALQ). It was assembled thanks to the generous expertise and loans of specimens from the Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke (MNS2) to the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (MBAS). Finally, BIRD REQUIEM is possible thanks to the support and donations of more than 200 broken watches from relatives, friends and acquaintances.