All images by the ICZ

 

 

The Lines WE DRAW

Presented by The Institute of Critical Zoologists

 

 

Are the systems we create to understand nature based on the ideals of nature or the ideals of humans? 


Do animals respect international boundary lines as we draw up borders and determine which animals belong to which area?


My work investigates the systems humans set up to understand animals. These include categories of local and foreign, invasive and native. These are the lines we draw to organise, classify and control. 


On 2nd April 2019, I visited the Yalu River estuary during the migration season with a researcher Mr Bai who spend a good part of his life counting the birds in Dan Dong for the last 10 years. He counted 54,321 birds that day. It took great concentration, skill and passion to keep track of the number of birds that flies in every season, year after year, for the past 10 years. Unfortunately, the numbers are declining every year. 


The best time to see the birds are during high tide in the morning. Every time the tide came in, more than 50,000 birds flew up, forming huge murmurations. The forms they created were witnessed by huge crowds of onlookers, who started to see shapes and lines in the murmurations. Sometimes incredible shapes were formed, but I wonder if these patterns were random or intentional. The onlookers could see many shapes and lines I wasn’t able to see.


I tried my best to photograph the lines that the birds drew in the sky. 




Background Information on Dan Dong Wetlands

The wetlands in Yalu River, Dan Dong is an important bird migratory site for the godwit and great knot. These birds migrate between New Zealand, China, North Korea and Alaska every year. The migratory flight of the godwit is the longest nonstop migration of any bird in the world. The stop in China and North Korea is an important refueling stop for these birds. As more wetlands and coasts in South Korea and China become concretised, the wetlands in Yalu River remains one of the last sanctuaries for these birds in the world.


 

 

Essay by Feng Boyi on the exhibition, click here.

For more information, click here.


The Lines We Draw III (Towards Alaska)

150cm x 100cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019

 

Detail of The Lines We Draw III (Towards Alaska)

 

 


The Lines We DrawThe Lines We Draw II (Towards North Korea)

150cm x 100cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019

 

Detail of The Lines We Draw II (Towards North Korea)

 

 


 

The Lines We DrawThe Lines We Draw I (From New Zealand)

150cm x 100cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019

 

Detail of The Lines We Draw I (From New Zealand)

 

 

 

 

The Lines We Draw54,231 birds at high tide

400cm x 150cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019

 


 

 

 

The Lines We Draw54,231 birds, 020419

800cm x 150cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019

 

Detail of 54,231 birds, 020419





The Lines We DrawMemorial to Great Knots (China, Alaska, New Zealand)

750cm x 250cm x 10cm

Lightbox

2019


Detail of Memorial to Great Knots (China, Alaska, New Zealand)

 

Installation View, Memorial to Great Knots (China, Alaska, New Zealand)

 

 

Copyright 2019, Institute of Critical Zoologists