At one stage, our group engulfed a man walking his dog; with no idea what was going on, infected by the humour, he stayed for a while.
A smart, funny experiment in flocking, Aeon showed how easily we follow, and stick together.
The Monthly
Since the 1980s, scientists have used computer modelling to illustrate the three simple rules that enable the synchronised movement of bird flocks: separation, alignment and cohesion.
Informed by these flocking studies and queer ecology, Aeon is activated by silence, sound, civic responsibility and personal desire. A playful push through public space and private discomfort, this participatory experiment in group behaviour questions what it means to be ‘natural’.
Co-created by a team of acclaimed multidisciplinary artists, Aeon lands a portable speaker in your palm and invites you to walk between soaring clouds of wings and piles of pigeon poo, towards a paradoxical and uncertain horizon.
BACKGROUND
Flocking is the choreography of a group of birds; they navigate by an individual initiating movement that ripples through the group. Visually arresting, the flock moves in unison throughout landscapes that are wild, unnatural and unknown.
Aeon situates itself in the dance and sound-art worlds and extends into public space. Using movement, walking and listening, Aeon encourages consideration of human-bird-place relationships and how these connect to our contemporary understanding of ecological forces.
Aeon is inspired by queer ecological thinking that questions established ideas of what is valued as ‘natural’.
