Brad Wilson

Spectacled Owl#2, St. Louis, MO, 2012, color photograph, signed and numbered

2012

Affinity by Brad Wilson is a series of exquisitely detailed close-up color portraits of captive birds, reptiles, and mammals in a studio environment. Employing a stark black backdrop...

From Brad Wilson's Affinity Series Affinity by Brad Wilson is a series of exquisitely detailed close-up color portraits of captive birds, reptiles, and mammals in a studio environme...

Affinity by Brad Wilson is a series of exquisitely detailed close-up color portraits of captive birds, reptiles, and mammals in a studio environment. Employing a stark black backdrop...

Western Screech Owl #4, Espanola, NM, 2016 is a color photograph from Brad Wilson's Affinity Series and is signed and numbered. Affinity by Brad Wilson is a series of exquisitely ...

'Great Horned Owl #3, Espanola, NM, 2011' is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Brad Wilson from the ‘Affinity’ series which features studio portraits of wild animal...

Available Sizes: 30" x 37.5" Edition of 15 40" x 50" Edition of 10 48" x 60" Edition of 5 Over 40,000 years ago, we began to depict animals in cave drawings. Throughout history, man...

'Eurasian Eagle Owl #1, St Louis, MO, 2012' is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Brad Wilson from the ‘Affinity’ series which features studio portraits of wild anim...

17" x 22" edition of 7 + 2 AP $1,400 unframed 24" x 36" edition of 7 + 2 AP $2,800 unframed Combining the documentary style of my previous climate project, The Witness Tree, with my earlier narrative fictional approach, I photograph paper cutouts (from appropriated online images) of climate-threatened birds. I place the cutouts within the birds’ current habitats so that they look real, but upon inspection, reveal themselves to be photos within photos—the gaze within the gaze upon nature—as actual birds recede into marginal zones of survival. The images are meant to disrupt the casual gaze, disarming the expectations of nature photography, leaving viewers disturbed and curious. Divergence of Birds (2017-current) A large-scale, long-term, multimedia conceptual project about the threat of species extinction on birds in North America . My current climate project, Divergence of Birds, takes inspiration from two texts: The Audubon Society’s “Birds and Climate Change Report” which projects that, by 2080, climate change will affect the range of habitat of over half of North American birds; and Phillip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” where electric versions of once-commonplace animals are so realistic that they fool even veterinarians. Divergence of Birds addresses the prospect that, one day, only simulacra of climate-impacted animals will be left. Combining the documentary style of my previous climate project, The Witness Tree, with my earlier narrative fictional approach, I’m photographing paper cutouts (from appropriated online photos) of the nearly 400 climate-threatened birds. I place the cutouts within the birds’ current habitats so that they look real, but upon inspection, reveal themselves to be photos within photos—the gaze within the gaze upon nature—as actual birds recede into marginal zones of survival. The images disrupt the casual gaze, disarming expectations of nature photography leaving viewers disturbed and questioning. Audiences will then be invited, through interactive workshops, to participate in climate activism. The full project when completed will include over 400 photos representing the climate-threatened birds, video, soundscape, "memento mori" images in vintage photo cases...