About the event

Dean is a local artist and art therapist, a keen bird watcher and wild camper. The idea for the exhibition came from a number of sources, inspirations and concerns.

Dean says: 'When I was a child growing up in Surbiton I used to watch and listen to swifts, swallows and martens as they flew over the filter beds on the Portsmouth Road alongside the Thames (the filter beds and the birds have now sadly gone). There seemed to be thousands of birds high up in the air feeding on the insects which in turn lived and bred in the water.

Later I listened to swifts screaming along the streets of Walthamstow where I have lived for the last 33 years. This experience was different, these swifts flashed through the streets often in tight groups with a sense of urgency and speed.

In the last few years I have noticed fewer and fewer swifts in the streets of E17 and this tallies with media coverage and research about the general decline in the UK’s swift population.

In 2023 I took part in (and co curated) an exhibition in the ‘Unsettled Gallery’ called ‘Alertism’, organised by the artists’ collective Collect Connect. The exhibition was an exploration and critique of the government’s use of text alerts and my ‘Alert’ was a sculpture and a poem regarding the decline in our swift population.

The original draft title for the exhibition ‘36 Swifts’ was ‘100 Swifts’. Sadly 100 swifts seemed too many, a reflection of how swift numbers have plummeted recently. The number 36 is linked to the number of swift nesting bricks in the Swift Tower in the Engine House at Walthamstow Wetlands, 12 bricks on three sides of the tower.

The Swift sculptures in the Engine House are at rest, a sight most of us rarely see as these incredible birds are nearly always flying. Perhaps these swifts have found a safe landing place after their arduous and dangerous migration, a feature they share with many people as both birds and humans struggle with climate change, lack of housing and persecution.

The words stencilled on the sculptures have been provided by a network of bird loving people and my thanks to all of you who took part. The words provide a link between the sculptures and the poem. The words on the sculptures interact with the sadness that the poem expresses and provide us with some hope for the future of these beautiful, mysterious birds.'

'36 Swifts' is a free exhibition and is open every day from Monday 23 June until Monday 14 July. 

NO BOOKING REQUIRED

Exhibition Opening Times
9.30 to 4.30pm

Venue: Walthamstow Wetlands Engine House Mezzanine, 2 Forest Road, London N17 9NH.
Nearest tube/rail: Tottenham Hale or Blackhorse Road

You can find out more about Dean Reddick's work here: https://deanreddick.blogspot.com/ and https://collectconnect.blogspot.com/