Animal Magic - Professor Tim Birkhead and Paul Evans

Animal Magic

Artworks that celebrate the magic of the animal kingdom.

Imagine a concrete overpass adorned with brightly coloured birds. Imagine artists building nests to attract mates. Imagine a dawn chorus of haiku on Twitter. Imagine those things, and you start to get some idea of the scope of this project and the playful sense of humour behind it.

Animal Magic is a series of original artworks celebrating the poetic magic of the animal kingdom. It’s a lively, ambitious collaboration between artist Paul Evans and animal behaviour expert Professor Tim Birkhead from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences.

Animal Magic events

  • Thursday 20-Sunday 30 September – Call & Response, dawn chorus of haiku poems broadcast on the @Callhaiku Twitter account. With Longbarrow Press and Angelina Ayers, Matthew Clegg, Abigail Flint, Mark Goodwin, Rob Hindle, Chris Jones, Fay Musselwhite, Mary Marken, Andrew Myers and Ruth Palmer
  • Thursday 20-Sunday 30 September – The Wisdom of Birds (‘flock wallpaper’), installation around the University of Sheffield concourse
  • Thursday 20-Sunday 30 September – The Wisdom of Birds (animation) guerilla screenings at the University of Sheffield and around the city centre (locations and timings tbc)
  • Thursday 20 September – Bowerbirds with Paul Evans, Rachael Hand and Sally Anne Roberts, Weston Park
  • Friday 21 September – Bowerbirds, The Spiegeltent, Barker’s Pool
  • Saturday 22-Sunday 23 September – Postcard from the Denny Museum with Chris Jones and Karl Hurst
  • Friday 28 September – The Wisdom of Birds (animation) screening as part of Researchers’ Night (tbc)
  • Saturday 29-Sunday 30 September – Postcard from the Denny Museum with Chris Jones and Karl Hurst

Find out more with our blogs: Animal Magic and Call & Response.

Paul Evans is a life-long supporter of environmental causes. His art uses drawing, painting and animation to explore the complex relationship between humans and nature.

Professor Tim Birkhead FRS has dedicated his life to the study of animal behaviour, especially birds. His latest book is Bird Sense: What It’s Like to Be a Bird (Bloomsbury, 2012).