On Wing, 2022-2023
“Girdling, also called ring-barking, is the complete removal of the bark from around the entire circumference of either a branch or trunk of a woody plant. Girdling results in the death of the area above the girdle over time.” (Wikipedia)
In the sanctuary, larger trees are girdled as a means of removal without damaging surrounding growth, and because, in the years it takes them to die, they provide important habitat for the area’s number one priority—the birds.
Started in 2022, this ongoing project is composed of photographs made with a group of community volunteers working to support the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary in northern Lincoln Park, Chicago. The group cares for the sanctuary in hopes of maintaining its status as a refuge for the over 150 different species of birds that migrate through the park each year.
Progressing through various seasons, pictures of volunteers are sequenced alongside their tools, the various spaces they occupy, and landscapes within the fenced core of the bird sanctuary to create a broader portrait of the community and the work that has shaped it. The group is positioned in and against the disorder of an environment that exceeds them, underscoring their collective reverence and the significance of their efforts.