Ghosts Of Gone Birds

Chris Aldhous brought together colleagues – artists and hobbyists – to make art about extinct birds. Then he and others found a way to tour it in England. Then they made this book about the project.

All this is fine, but the project is really scattered and doesn't maintain any real quality throughout the works. Lots of the art featured is terrific but lots more is uninspiring, and the documentation makes grand pronouncements with little room for nuance. The artworks are also disordered, with no oversight as to what stories to tell, or how to tell them, and as a result many artists have used the same bird, for example. In the end, the book shows a mishmash of artworks and a story that reads a bit like a vanity project. Maybe the exhibitions were good, but this book is only worth a peruse.