The three-screen video commissioned by Artangel and recently show at Tate St Ives is presented
by father and son and explores the science and poetry of birds nests. It could be seen as a
Freudian drama; as the younger Holden tries to nd his own language in relation to his father’s
expertise. Andy Holden is know for his sculptures and installations whilst his father Peter
dedicated his life to ornithology and is author of the RSPB Handbook of British Birds as well as
appearing regularly on television in the 1980’s and 1990’s to talk about birds. The lm looks in
detail at a number of species: elaborate weaver bird nests, the unscrupulous cuckoo, the
pragmatism of the wood pigeon, the delicate craft of the long tailed tit and concludes with the
bowerbird, which for Andy, could be considered the original artist. The work is the result of seven
years of collaboration between the artist and his father and through focusing on the nest the
Holden’s engage a mode of ecological thinking that forces us to look closer at the natural world.
Andy Holden’s collection of nests used as research for the lm is shown in vitrine, alongside his
sculptural replicas of weaver bird nests and detailed porcelain hand painted replica’s of birds
eggs.