There were few birds to be seen under the low slate
grey skies of London. Birds, like humans, don’t like drizzle. By 3 p.m., it was getting dark as I entered the
Rochelle School. I had rung a doorbell, and a voice,
seemingly surprised, invited me in to the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition. It was a school, no doubt, but for
the month of November, it has been converted into one of the most heartbreaking and original exhibitions I
have ever seen.
Ghosts of Gone Birds was
set up to raise awareness and money for BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions program
(birdlife.org/extinction). More than 120 artists were invited to create art
— in any way — to highlight the birds. The results are devastating, haunting, and hold a real
poignant beauty. Sir Peter Blake’s Dead as a Dodo lists hundreds of birds we shall never see again
and hundreds that may be gone within 30 years. Margaret Atwood turned her attention to Great Auks. In the
program she wrote, “To find so many creative people engaged with the subject of birds and the threat of
extinction that faces so many of them today, is truly inspiring.”
Ivory-billed Woodpecker,
New Zealand Little Bittern, Newton’s Parakeet, Siberian Crane, Raiatea Parakeet, White Gallinule, Hawaiian
Crow, Reunion Night Heron, Red Macaw, Bachman’s Warbler… the list of birds gone, or going, is maddingly
long.
We see the White Gallinule
being attacked by pirates, the Bonin Grosbeak as a dead still-life with a note tied around its little claws,
the Mauritius Night Heron staring at a cat — introduced by humans and decimated the population. For the
Elephant Bird, we simply see one bone lying next to a detailed oversized sketch of it. Levity is provided by
Ralph Steadman, who contributed dozens of ink-splattered sketches mixing the real with the fantastical. Here,
we see the Martinique Amazon Parrot next to the Liverpool Pigeon, and Choiseul Crested Pigeon alongside the
Moor Pen. It’s witty addition. I want to buy one, but its sadly out of reach — although some of the
artworks can be bought for as little as £80 ($130 CAD). I buy a T-shirt instead.
As I walk back into the
rain-splashed cobbled streets of the East End of London, it’s darkening but I look up. I see a crow. A
regular black crow on a TV aerial. It is beautiful. And haunting.
Ghosts of Birds Gone is at
Rochelle School, Arnold Circus, London, E2 7ES until Nov 23.
>> ghostsofgonebirds.com
>> facebook.com/ghostsofgonebirds •
