Of Ash and Air
Of Ash and Air
A presentation of work by Leslie&Gal
Of Ash and Air explores a new mythology, guided by the long history and symbolism of human-bird relationships. In this mixed media installation, artists Leslie Ruckman and Gal Nissim take over the NYC Bird Alliance house to present the beauty and sadness of birds in a human-centric world. Intermingling art for birds with stories for people, the work seeks to create an interspecies experience, hinting at a more balanced future.
In North America alone, ~1 billion birds are killed annually by flying into windows; That’s 32 birds every second. Working with casts taken from songbirds that were killed in collisions with glass in NYC, Of Ash and Air prompts viewers to confront this overlooked un-natural selection in a tangible way. Reincarnated in the material that killed them, the sculptures honor the birds in their death, aiming to bring awareness to a seemingly invisible problem.
In another part of the installation animated UV murals, which birds can see but humans cannot, illustrate the entanglements of human and bird cultures throughout time. Through these murals Leslie and Gal also propose an intentional solution to the unintentional problem of glass collisions, blurring the illusory boundary manufactured in urban environments.
For the Birds a set of time-based sculptures co-created with wild birds in Upstate New York will make a premier at Of Ash and Air. This video documents the birds as they eat, transforming the sculpture to reveal a secondary form hidden underneath the seeds. The sculpture appears as a hybrid bird-human, hinting at ancient legends and the power birds held for our ancestors, while also representing future possibilities where humanity shifts into a role of attending to nature.
Leslie&Gal's collaborative interactive works blend art, science, and design, utilizing living organisms to probe complex scientific themes. They’ve exhibited their work worldwide, including the New Museum, Pioneer Works, NYCxDesign Times Square, Science Gallery Detroit, Print Screen (Israel), among others. They received fellowships and grants from LMCC, Culture & Animals Foundation, Microsoft Design Expo Challenge, Science Sandbox. Currently, they are Innovators in Residence at Rutgers and teaching fellows at Animal Studies Master program and ITP, at NYU.
