Silent Migration, 2023 Dorothy O'Connor
Materials: Wood Veneer
Dimensions: 3 ft x 3.5/4 ft
In celebration of Riverside Park, and its close proximity to water being a draw for migratory birds, I have created a flock of nine wood veneer geese. I chose geese not only because of what they symbolically represent; determination, joy, wisdom, family and loyalty but also because geese travel long distances and inadvertently carry with them pieces of each environment they visit on their journey, an important illustration of how the health of one place can carry and impact the next. Their migration connects us and the natural world within each stop.
This journey of connection is a good reminder that the way we treat the natural world in our immediate surroundings can directly affect others far away. It highlights the importance and wisdom of treating our environs with care and emphasizes that we are not just individuals but community and in a sense, family. Each member of the flock has the design of a tree branch pattern underneath the wing and tail, honoring the materials used to create the flock and the natural beauty that surrounds them.
About the Artist
Dorothy O’Connor’s constructed, fantastical works often combine elements of photography, installation and public art. A native Atlantan, she graduated with degrees in Literature and Studio Arts and a certificate in photography. As a fabricator, she is largely self-taught. Inspired by the natural world, and shaped by events in her life, her themes explore various personally meaningful subjects both broad, such as animal welfare and environmental concerns, to the more intimate; friends, family and community.
She has received grants from Possible Futures, FLUX, Forward Arts Foundation, Art on the Beltline, Crusade For Art, Fulton County Arts and Culture and most recently, City of Atlanta ElevateART to present her installations as public art. In 2013, she was artist in residence at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville where she built and presented her installation, “Shelter.” She is a Hambidge Fellow and was part of the Hambidge Hive Collective in 2017. 2019 concluded with a solo show of her photography series, Scenes, at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.
Ms. O’Connor’s work is part of the permanent collections at MOCA GA, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fulton County Arts and Culture, and is included in numerous private collections.
