After Birds
Ian Campbell
Photography

This month, the Fountain Arts Center features the photography exhibit “After Birds” by Fillmore Artist Ian Campbell

"After Birds" is a series of infrared photographs documenting the habitats of extinct, endangered, and disappearing species of American birds. Each photograph borrows its title and aspects of design from the corresponding image in John James Audubon's "Birds of America" (1827-1838, Havell edition). The sites depicted are locations where I have personally been to observe a given species of bird. My goal is to visualize a landscape devoid of avian life, haunted by the ghosts of lost birds.

Emily Dickinson famously characterized hope as "the thing with feathers." I sometimes wonder if perhaps despair has feathers of its own. Yet, even when tinged with melancholy, birding is ultimately a hopeful pursuit. Staring up at the barren treetops, you may never know when some small feathered creature will suddenly appear and fill your heart with wonder. As a record of my personal bird-watching pursuits, I hope "After Birds" will inspire viewers to seek their own connections with the natural world.

Contact: www.iancampbellphoto.com