The Bower was inspired by one of the great builders of the natural world, the male satin bowerbird, which creates impressive structures with the sole aim of attracting a mate. The male bird carefully finds the materials to build a beautifully shaped bower and his skill in making the bower is directly connected with his success in finding a mate. To further attract attention from females, the males collect coloured objects, often blue (both natural and, latterly, artificial), and lay them out in patterns and groups around the bower. As our installation needed to be in a natural environment to enhance the effect, we settled on a site in the Royal Botanic Garden surrounded by towering fig trees and gum trees. With this light artwork, we wanted to celebrate the skill and perseverance of the bower bird and hoped to draw attention to the impact human activities have on the habitats of this avian architect
Artist: Ruth McDermott and Ben Baxter.
Date: 2018.
Medium: Found object, branches, Blue LED, RGB LED, DMX colour changing control.
Size: 2.5m x 10m.
Special thanks: to Corey Dolman and Mathew Webster.
