This week sees the launch of "The Puffin Wreck", a provocative art piece that will be in the Zoology foyer until December.
The Scottish coastline with its vast sandstone cliffs is the ‘homecoming’ and nesting territory for vast numbers of migratory seabirds. Artist Mary-Ann Orr became concerned about the losses of seabirds during the winter of 2013, and was inspired to produce an installation which featured the plight of our local puffin populations.. This artwork challenges the viewer to consider the potential devastation of the impact of climate change on the habitats of migratory species, and in this case our iconic Puffin.
This artwork will be available to view in the Zoology Building foyer when the building is open from September 18th until mid December, between 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday.
The launch of this artwork, coincides with a talk from Professor Mike Harris, Emeritus Fellow at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology who has researched local populations of puffins for 40 years. He will talk about puffins during the summer and winter, the dramatic changes in fortune of this iconic Scottish seabird and explain the causes and consequences of major 'wrecks' of puffins during the last two winters.
This talk will be held in the Zoology lecture theatre on Wednesday 17th September, 7pm. Tickets £5.50, concession £4 available through Aberdeen Box Office.
Both of these events have been organised in partnership with TechFest In September, and are supported by Homecoming and the Scottish Government. For any questions on either of the events please contact the centre on biodiversity@abdn.ac.uk or 01224 274545.
