Alain Delorme « Muybridge's Horse

Alain Delorme

Have you seen a murmuration, a flock of starlings, before? If not in the sky, then maybe represented in photographs such as Richard Barnes’, or in films like Take Shelter? It’s a sight at the same time incredible and ominous. Artist Alain Delorme uses this phenomenon of clouds of birds undulating through air as inspiration for his series Murmurations: Ephemeral Plastic Sculptures. The images at first glance depict mesmerizing, massive flocks of starlings, but upon closer investigation actually show plastic bags meant to mimic the impressive behavior of birds. For the project, Delorme photographs and composites thousands of discarded plastic bags in graceful formations, aiming to bring attention to consumer society rife with pollution. The effect is foreboding and sinister. Poetic and upsetting, the compelling images shed light on in a pressing environmental issue in a surprising and effective way. I appreciate the “manmade” element on the edge of each frame, reminding the viewer that this problem is one that both plagues our world and is of our own creation.