Tales from the Bird Park

Tales from the Bird Park
multispecies video, 30 min, 2024

Tales from the Bird Park is a multispecies video involving shared creation with the birds who use the Bird Park Survival Station. I developed multispecies processes for creating the video. Recording involved a passive camera—a camera that’s not moving, just recording whatever is happening in front of it. The passive camera models a passive role for the human artist, an unobtrusive method that allows for the agency and creativity of the birds to take the lead as action in front of the camera. This approach incorporates ethics of autonomy. The birds are not captive in any way, and they can refuse to participate at any time. The editing process is also led by the birds. I examine the clips and choose the stories that are being told by them. Each clip represents a moment of agency, or story that the birds are telling.

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exhibitions:
– 2025 group exhibition “Near Dwellers as Indwellers”, Both Kinds Project Space, curated by Daphne Plessner, Vancouver, BC, Canada
– 2024, group exhibition “Near Dwellers as Creative Collaborators”, Street Road Artist Space, curated by Daphne Plessner and Emily Artinian.

associated publications:
– Plessner, Daphne. “Ruth K. Burke, Julie Andreyev: Near Dwellers as Creative Collaborators”. The Tree Museum & Street Road, 2024.