Les Oiseaux and other works on paper

Mark Dion

In The Birds, Mark Dion questions our relationship with nature: why do we need to classify and organise it? Six drawings and a painting take a humorous look at the sciences invented by human beings and our eternally anthropocentric view of the other living beings around us.

The natural sciences are Mark Dion's favourite field, and one of his recurring questions is to try to "understand how, when and why we have evolved into societies whose relationship with the environment is suicidal". For the artist, our vision of science and its missions - observing, cataloguing, dissecting the world - is indicative of the posture of superiority adopted by the human species in relation to the rest of the planet.

▶ Artworks: Les Oiseaux, 2020, Ink and watercolour on paper, 70.5 x 82.5 cm; Aquatic Nets, 2013, Red and blue pencil on paper, 18.8 x 28.4 cm; Bird Song Pavillion, 2010, Pencil and watercolour on paper, 20.3 x 12.7 cm; Field Station Honda - A project for FLORA, 2013, Red and blue pencil on paper, 28.3 x 35.5 cm; Ichthyosaurus, 2013, Collage, blue pencil and red pencil on mounted paper on canvas (banner), 137 x 98 cm; My Art P(r)actice Mind Map, 2020, Red and blue pencil on blue paper, 23 x 30.5 cm; The Mystics, 2020, Red and blue pencil on paper, 28 x 35.8 cm

▶ Venue: Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman

  • Les Oiseaux and other works on paper

    The Mystics, 2020, Red and blue pencil on paper, 28 x 35.8 cm, Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman, 2023. – Julien Gremaud

Les Oiseaux and other works on paper
Mark Dion, Les Oiseaux and other works on paper, Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman, 2023. – Julien Gremaud
Les Oiseaux and other works on paper
Guided tour at the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman, 2023. – Laura Moreva
Les Oiseaux and other works on paper
Visitors during a guided tour at the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman looking at the work Les Oiseaux of Mark Dion, 2023. – Laura Moreva
Les Oiseaux and other works on paper
Mark Dion, Les Oiseaux and other works on paper, Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman, 2023. – Julien Gremaud