3 Billion Gone

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My work visualizes the loss of 3 billion birds since 1970. As a conceptual artist, I create works using a variety of forms, each demonstrating the staggering number of birds lost.

Visualizing 3 billion is difficult to comprehend and impossible for one person to accomplish. I create work by engaging the public and enlisting their help in documenting this shared loss. Nearly 170 people contributed their photographs, time, and consideration to complete this work. I approach all my work - including this project - with the intent to build communities and create stewardship for the environment.

As a birder at heart, I have been motivated to create this project after reading a 2019 Cornell Lab of Ornithology study indicating a nearly 30% decline in the bird population in the United States and Canada over 50 years. My work is meant to explore this loss, create a space where people can experience its sheer magnitude, and provide a place to grieve. It's still possible to reverse this trend. Each of us can make an individual difference, one sunflower seed at a time.

-Greg A. Cooper

April, 2024