Those who were birds I

Image Not Available

Martin Healy , British, b.1967

Title

Date2018

MediumArchival pigment print

Dimensions

100 × 79.1 cm

Credit LinePresented, 2026

Object numberNGI.2026.85

DescriptionThose who were birds (2018-2022) is a series of analogue photographs that depict lone birds of prey, hovering in empty skies. Deliberately keeping the animal distant within the frame, the works do not attempt to create familiar representations, preferring instead to focus on the material presence of an animal watching from a distance. At times an object of symbolic political power, the bird of prey is also regarded as a symbol of ecosystem health and is therefore invested with multiple meanings simultaneously. The birds photographed in this body of work are primarily re-introduced species and are thus regarded as a conservation success but, this also raises questions about the conditions leading to the depletion of the species. The works therefore operate as both the material presence of an animal and as a sign of permanent loss - both indicators of a ‘nature’ reshaped for the purposes of capital.
Exhibition HistoryThe Augury, Solo Exhibition, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, 2018

Park Life, Group Exhibition, The Glucksman, Cork, 2022