Portrait of Audubon
2025
bird seed, agar, wood, paint
54" x 12" x 12"
A commemorative bust of John James Audubon, based on historic portraits and cast in birdseed and agar (a seaweed-based edible matrix). The sculpture was installed on the lawn outside the picture window of the gallery where "Audubon's Birds" drawings were displayed. "Portrait of Audubon" was consumed by wild birds during the exhibition, which occurred at the height of the Spring migration.
Bird species were documented by students watching from the gallery window, and the data was submitted to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as part of a citizen science effort. This literal "feedback loop" was intended to raise questions about society’s indebtedness to the advances of past scientists, while critically engaging with their methods. The sculpture also provides a humorous opportunity for birds to participate in metaphoric revenge against Audubon, who shot so many birds in the name of scientific inquiry.
Peddie School, Hightstown NJ
Bird species were documented by students watching from the gallery window, and the data was submitted to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as part of a citizen science effort. This literal "feedback loop" was intended to raise questions about society’s indebtedness to the advances of past scientists, while critically engaging with their methods. The sculpture also provides a humorous opportunity for birds to participate in metaphoric revenge against Audubon, who shot so many birds in the name of scientific inquiry.
Peddie School, Hightstown NJ