The Arctic Tern
Arctic Terns hold the record for the longest migration on Earth, spanning up to 60,000 miles. Every year these small seabirds migrate from their wintering grounds in the Antarctic, up to nesting territory in the Arctic Circle.
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Land Coverage
Ice Coverage
In 1970
Ice Coverage
As Of 2015
The Arctic Circle
During breeding season, Arctic Terns nest and rear their young on islands and coastal reagions in the Arctic Circle. These birds depend on stable land conditions and fish populations in this topmost area of our globe, all of which are threatened by our climate crisis
Antarctica
Once their young are strong enough to leave the nest, Arctic Terns fly up to 55,000 miles to the Antarctic. They spend their winter in the southern-most region of the globe continuously fishing, and resting on floating packs of ice. Because of the ice loss seen in both poles of the Earth, these ice floats are decreasing more and more every year, threatening the livelihood of the planet's farthest migrating bird.
The Installation
The mural above was shown as a part of the Burren College of Art MFA exhibition entitled "See or Seem, Dream Within a Dream". During the exhibition, visitors were invited to print arctic terns along the entangled red migration paths. As a part of the opening, I guided participants in this process whilst explaining the beautiful importance of this bird and how it is relevant to our current climate crisis. Afterwards, visitors could follow a QR code to the directions below in order to continue to expand the work.
The goal of this piece is to engage the public in a creative act of multispecies thinking. By making the maps and data accessible and inviting the public to participate in the actual making, conversations about migration and climate can be initiated, and people can feel that they played a part in a sort of activism.
If the artist is present:
If the artist is present, she will help to instruct you on rolling out ink and printing your tern directly onto the wall of the gallery.
If the artist is absent:
If the artist is absent, meaning you are visiting this installation at any time other than the opening night, please use the ink pads provided to ink up your desired stamp and press firmly onto the red lines on the mural.
