1. Mahalia, Eilis, Juliano, Divya and Laura
Mark Dion
Mahalia, Eilis, Juliano, Divya and Laura

2. Aviary (Library for the Birds of Massachusetts)
12 Zebra finches housed in a 17ft tall aviary, along with a dead maple tree with ornithology books, bird feeders and nets hung from the tree.
The title is a literal description of the piece. It is a bird house containing books and other objects, created for the MASS MoCA.
This installation is composed of a collection of found objects and features 12 Zebra finches housed in a 17ft tall aviary, along with a dead maple tree with ornithology books, bird feeders and nets hung from the tree. Visitors could actually walk inside the cylindrical steel aviary, becoming a part of the installation itself.
All elements of the piece are arranged around the trunk of the tree with items carefully suspended from and placed on the branches of the tree which contrast the chaotic arrangement of the books and other objects on the floor.
(play from 1:57)

3. The colours of the piece are natural and earth-like, reflecting the environmental concerns of the piece and the artist’s work as a whole. However the piece itself is enclosed within a large cage. This is most likely because of practical reasons although it does provoke further thought about the structures that govern the natural world, and the boundary between the natural and artificial, nature and culture, fact and fiction, science and art. His installations often imitate natural history displays and reminds us of the personification of animals for example in fables and folklore.
An early nineteenth-century collection of stuffed birds in London’s Natural History Museum.

4. "Collecting may be a passion or it may be impulsive, but then there’s ordering, taxonomy, classification- putting things together in a way that makes sense. Of course we have a scientific way of organizing things- but there are other kinds of taxonomies based on use, folklore, personal tastes, and imaginary hierarchies. That’s really what is fascinating for me. Scientific classification is constantly changing as information shifts." - Mark Dion
This is a drawing for "Aviary (Library for the Birds of Massachusetts,“. In his book, ‘Bureau of the Centre for the Study of Surrealism and its Legacy’ he discusses Zoology, Botany, Earth Science, Ethnology, Archaeology and Paradoxes and Numismatics. You can see the influences of these things throughout his work.
This installation is meant for us to question our own foundation of knowledge or how we collect and assemble pieces of information in our own heads.

5. Ernst Haeckel: Evolutionary Tree (1874)
Mark Dion is influenced by naturalist Ernst Haeckel and his drawings of the evolutionary tree (1874). He was also inspired by Wunderkammer which means ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, relating to the concept of imitating a natural history display. He also made several of his own versions of ‘cabinets of curiosities’.
Ernst Haeckel: Evolutionary Tree (1874)
Domenico Remps: Art chamber closet, 2 H. (18th century)

6. Landfill (1999-2000) Tate Thames Dig (1999) Ichthyosaurus (2003)
These are some of his other works. They have a similar aesthetic combining the natural world with manmade objects. He appears to be quite eclectic in his approach. All his works have a scientific influence while examining issues to do with human society.
Tate Thames Dig (1999)
Ichthyosaurus (2003)

7. David Altmejd’s The Index (2007)
This reminds us of other artworks including David Altmejd’s ‘The Index’ (2007) and Natalie Jeremijenko and Phil Taylor’s ‘Ooz’ project which was commissioned for the same gallery.
David Altmejd’s The Index (2007)
Natalie Jeremijenko and Phil Taylor’s For the Birds (‘Ooz’ project)

8. In our own opinions we all thought the use of live animals as interesting, especially as in his book he speaks a lot about the extinction of the birds in the world as well as in books themselves. At first we just thought it was a pretty image, however after researching it, it is easy to see how the issues relate to the installation itself.