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Sep 18, 2017

Massive replica of Bowerbird bower is part of art exhibition

Photo: Marcus Leith
Artist, Andy Holden, and his ornithologist father Peter Holden created this huge replica of an Australian Bowerbird's bower as part of an exhibition entitled Natural Selection in London's former Newington Library.   The project was commissioned by Artangel and runs until November 5, 2017. Andy Holden is particularly interested in how bower-building and nest-building relate to art-making.   Do birds create their intricate constructions because instinct tells them to drop moss on twigs, or do they have a vision of their home in mind, suggesting a higher consciousness?   The Australian Bowerbird fashions a unique inverted arch of sticks purely for displaying the objects it collects, like "a set for a performance".   Bowerbirds range from 8" to 16" long and the bowers are usually slightly taller than the birds.   This information was taken, in part, from an article by Skye Sherwin in a recent online edition of Britain's The Guardian.
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BarrytheBirder

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