Our disappearing birds the focus of interactive digital artwork

Posted on: 26 July 2019

The Repeated Refrains of Nature – an interactive digital artwork exploring Europe’s disappearing bird populations – is currently open to visitors of Trinity’s award-winning Zoological Museum. 

The installation – created by mixed media artist, Shane Finan, who works as a project manager in Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics – has proved so popular that its run has been extended until August 31. 

Six TVs in a security control room setup show videos of common garden birds feeding, and whenever someone enters the room the birds fly off screen, leaving empty feeders. By remaining motionless, the birds may reappear, suggesting that reducing human action can also reduce the loss of species populations.

The artwork, exhibited among extinct and endangered birds in the Museum, thus invites people to consider the human impact on bird depopulation. It has been supported by the Trinity College Dublin Visual and Performing Arts Fund.