Murmuration
The Bowes Museum
Opens: 27 January – 23 June 2024
Immerse yourself in the world of birds, exploring avian symbolism in art and trace its significance across time and cultures.
Murmuration presents a wide selection of work from artists and makers from various generations, backgrounds and contexts whose work ranges across drawing, sculpture, film and installation.
Installation view: A Terrible Fiction Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, part of Murmuration, The Bowes Museum, County Durham, England [27th January – 23rd June 2024].
© The Bowes Museum Photograph: Claire Collinson Photography.
We invite you to delve into the pivotal role birds play as indicators to the health of the environment, reflecting the urgent climate crisis and, through the work of artists and makers, ponder the metaphor of birds as messengers of home and belonging. Examine the complexity and nuance around the collecting of taxidermy, from its role as a teaching resource to its connections to scientific racism and colonial exploitation, and consider the ethical and cultural implications of preserving animals for study and display.
A Terrible Fiction, Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, 2019
Originally commissioned by Arts Catalyst for the exhibition Genetic Automata
Through this show, discover the profound relationships we share with birds; transcending species barriers and fostering kinship. Murmuration is a reminder of the common spaces we inhabit and the interconnectedness that binds us.
Exhibiting artists include Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, Henna Aikensen, Shiraz Bayjoo, Bentley Beetham, Josephine Bowes, Michel-Pierre Hubert Descours, John Doyle, Ryan Gander, Sally Madge, Bethan Maddocks, Edourad- Aime Pils, David Shrigley, C.F Tunnicliffe and Hanna Tuulikki amongst others.