What does our world look like from the perspective of another species?
Highly intelligent, ravens and crows (corvids) reveal some of the complexities involved in survival, and the strategies other species employ to make their way in the world. Our worlds have co-evolved – with references in the stories of ancient and contemporary cultures – so what makes a species so resilient in one part of the world, and not in another? In Australia, corvids are thriving and adapting. In Iceland, they’re under threat.
Hear interviews with Wiradjuri elder, Diane McNaboe about the significance of the ‘crow’ to her culture, and long-time Skagaströnd (Iceland) resident and farmer, Sigrún Lárusdóttir on ravens in Icelandic culture and her hopes for their future. Both women generously shared stories from their culture with Kim V. Goldsmith for use in the works created from this project.
We have come to forget our minds are shaped by bodily experience of being in the world — its spaces, textures, sounds, smells and habits — as well as by genetic traits we inherit and ideologies we absorb.
– Robert Macfarlane, Landmarks
Eye of the Corvus: Messenger of Truth aims to present the landscape from the perspective of these birds, underpinned by scientific understandings. What might be revealed to us about the current state and future of our world through the eye of these birds?
As an artist and a lover of the natural environment, I’ve had a long-held fascination with birds in my creative practice, for their role as indicators of the health of the environment, and how we interact with them based on the value we afford them.
Over two+ years (2018/2019) and in two countries at opposite ends of the world, both remote with extreme climates, I used a selection of cameras and sound equipment to capture the rural, peri-urban and urban landscapes of Australia and Iceland from the eye of the bird. The resulting work was shown at the Western Plains Cultural Centre in Dubbo, New South Wales from 14 December 2019 – 2 February 2020. The video offers a short walk-through of the exhibition.
The blog documents the project phases and findings (The Flight) – from pre-production, production, through to post-production, and installation.
Kim V. Goldsmith
(to see my other art projects)
Eye of the Corvus: Messenger of Truth 