Show Bird: Annie Dunning & Ron Tran
This exhibition, organized as part of the annual Symposium of Art, features Annie Dunning’s video-sculptural installation Air Time (2007) and Ron Tran’s site-specific video The Peckers (2004).
Show Bird showcases two works of a performative nature, both with an unexpected collaborator—the seemingly ordinary, ubiquitous pigeon. The artists’ use of live pigeons in the making of music is presented through the use of humour, absurdity and chance. Air Time aims “to reconsider the human relationship to other species of city dwellers, as it offers a different look at urban wildlife and the potential that co-habitation offers for innovation.” The Peckers calls attention to the ways in which chance and coincidence play a part in our daily interactions. These charming ‘cultural followers’ – a term used to describe animals that evolve and thrive in close proximity to us and our built environment – will convince even the most die-hard pigeon hater that these stout-bodied birds are really quite remarkable.
Show Bird is organized by the Owens Art Gallery and guest–curated by Sandra Margolian.
Publication
Foreword by Gemey Kelly
Essay by Sandra Margolian
Design by Robert Tombs
Published by Owens Art Gallery
