Sacrifice the Bird Song

Sacrifice the Bird Song
This was a solo exhibition of 19 photographs shown at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol, which selects and showcases the work of contemporary artists and emerging new artists.

Research Questions
Sacrifice the Bird Song explores the plight of British wildlife as it struggles to survive in an environment dominated by the automobile. The work highlights the changing balance of our ecosystem in response to large numbers of road-kill. The work builds upon a previous project by Wenham-Clarke entitled When lives Collide (2006) which focused on those unfortunate people affected by road traffic accidents.

Research Imperatives
Through the use of photography Sacrifice the Bird Song questions our attitude to our own environment and focuses on the direct impact of road-kill on our ecosystem.

The underpinning research was both qualitative and quantitative. Wenham-Clarke researched by making direct contact with wildlife rescue centres that deal on a daily basis with animals injured on the roads. He also made links with conservationists and even taxidermists who collect road kill. The research revealed an apparent serious imbalance in the natural ecosystem. There are very high death rates for some species, but others that rely on carrion are experiencing significant growth in number. The research also highlighted that for some animals such as deer, their top predator is now the car.

The images themselves are designed to be aesthetically pleasing to contrast against the public’s normal preconceived view of road-kill. This is a very deliberate attempt to draw in the viewer and allow them time to absorb the significance of the image and so the issue. Referencing ‘Memento Mori’, ‘Veritas’ and also modern advertising imagery the work explores our own relationship with our environment. With this work Wenham-Clarke asks the fundamental question, “In this modern era in which we give a price to everything, what value do we place upon our own ecosystem?”