The further away they are: creative approaches to recording bird flight paths

Abstract

Seeking to model the flight paths of birds as solid objects, this artistic research and development project makes use of digital data collection, computer modelling software and 3-D printing. The project tests notions of objectivity in observation. Eschewing imaginative interpretations of flight, I aspire to allow birds to transcribe their own movements with minimal human intervention. The enquiry began with a drawing process whereby flights were traced by hand on window panes, as they occurred. Subsequent work with the Structure & Motion Lab of the Royal Veterinary College has drawn on high-resolution data from free-flying birds carrying lightweight data loggers. The resulting digital models and 3-D printed models describe short bursts of flight with considerable accuracy. At the same time, the process highlights the impossibility of absolute knowledge and leads to consideration of the need to acknowledge subjectivity – and embrace reciprocity – in observing and recording the natural world.