EDUCATION

5 The River Liffey in Lucan House Demesne” by Thomas Roberts, from Shaping Ireland at the National Gallery of Ireland

An advertisement for an exhibition caught my eye recently. The description didn’t sound particularly captivating. I was actually intrigued by the banality of the topic – it was about birds’ nests. Birds’ nests are everywhere, but I realised I didn’t know a huge amount about these little structures. How exactly are they made? Do all birds build new ones every year? Does their purpose vary? Is it the male or female who takes the lead with construction? I wandered in.

Artist Andy Holden and his ornithologist father Peter combine their knowledge and the objects they’ve collected over a number of years to form the exhibition entitled Natural Selection. The fact that Andy is an artist and Peter an ornithologist means that the exhibition has a refreshing and nuanced feel; evidently, they appreciate and have learned from each other’s perspectives.

A three-screen video installation featuring Andy and Peter plays a central role in the exhibition. They talk about different types of nests, nest materials and nest sites. From how they speak, it’s clear that Peter’s approach stems from Darwin’s theory of evolution and “natural selection”, whereas Andy is consumed by the idea that nest building is very much a creative act. What is most striking, however, and what allows the exhibition to progress in a very interesting manner, is their shared intrigue at the creativity and skill of a wide variety of birds. Both are captivated by the bowerbird’s creation. One need only glance at the images that crop up when “bowerbird nest” is typed into Google to see why. Male bowerbirds, found in the forests of New Guinea and Australia, create impressively elaborate structures complete with colourful decorative objects in order to attract a mate. They seem to have a penchant for blue objects and are very particular about where they place each item. What is implied is that these birds have a genuine concept of beauty that stretches beyond functionality/scientific principles.

Natural born artists?

Taking a closer look at the extraordinary nests of the bowerbird, Jenny Quinn wonders if animals have the human-like ability to appreciate and create art.

Although I learned a few general things about nests from the exhibition, I did come away with a new question: Can animals truly appreciate and create art? Art is more often than not considered to be unique to the human realm, but if we take a close look at nature, we might find that we humans aren’t the only ones who appreciate true creative expression. We should take a leaf out of Andy and Peter’s book when attempting to investigate this. In other words, we shouldn’t pit science against art, rather we should examine the interesting relationship between the two.