ANDY WEBSTER
This work reimagines a 1960s ecological intervention, highlighting our current environmental crisis. Inspired by the story of Lolo Peresic, the 'birdman' who built a Swift box tower housing 400 birds annually, it seeks to engage with the alarming decline in bird populations. Over four decades, Europe's wild birds have halved, with Spanish Swift numbers dropping by a third in just 20 years due to habitat loss.
The 8+ meter high reconstruction replicates Peresic's ad hoc design, drawing parallels with Kalahari weaverbirds' nest-building - an 'other-than-human, bird-led sculptural practice.' This functional art piece provides shelter for migratory Swifts while serving as a playful statement on human-wildlife interactions.
By recreating this unique habitat, the work prompts questions about our relationship with nature and art's role in fostering ecological harmony.
The project was realised in collaboration with Darren Ray and supported by Rinus van de Sande and Arte Contemporary, La Rapita, Spain [2023].