The Ornitarium. International Biennial, Spaced: Art out of Place. Perth and Denmark Shire, Western Australia. Building materials, social project. 2011.
The Ornitarium was commissioned as part of IASKA’s international site-based biennial, Spaced: Art Out of Place in Perth, Australia. The first in a two-part series of ornithologically based work, the Ornitarium is an architectural sculpture that is sited at an endangered wetlands area. The site is operated by Green Skills and is located just outside of the Shire of Denmark, Western Australia. The project is inspired by local knowledge related to the forest ecology and birds of southwestern Australia. The work is also an investigation of local building methodologies and functions as both a bird hide and social space. The Ornitarium has a large front wall that stands as the dividing line between the human habitat and the wetland habitat, and a platform that invites visitors to spend time around the structure; encouraging learning and providing a catalyst for developing a deeper connection to the local environment and community. The structure binds built space with environment—the inside expresses notions of the private, contemplative, communal, and reflective, and the outside wall stands to camouflage human engagement and reinforce fragmentation, and instinctive habitats such as nests and forests.
