NIGHT FLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR GHOSTLY WILD NEIGHBOURS.

Like a ghost in the night, Night Flight pays homage to the nocturnal North American Barn Owl.

Barn Owls are birds of prey. Specialized hunters at the top of the food chain, they possess excellent low-light vision and can easily spot prey in the darkest of nights. Even more incredibly, their ability to locate prey by sound alone is the best of any animal that has ever been tested.

Rather than building a nest, Barn owls lay their eggs directly onto the previous year’s nest debris—a compacted layer of owl pellets.

The Barn owl is a vital part of its ecosystem, serving as a scavenger while helping to control pest populations. Night Flight showcases the balance these creatures maintain within their ecosystem and the longevity they can achieve with minimal detriment to their environment.

Night Flight’s stylized feathers and ghost-like physical features highlight the owl’s cunning and quiet nature. LED lights running through the sculpture reveal these well-known, yet seldom-seen, wild neighbours.c While recycled and reused elements reference the craftiness and scavenging nature of the barn owl.

By reflecting on the natural conservation and stewardship embodied by the barn owl, Night Flight encourages visitors to reflect on how they can reduce their own ecological and carbon footprint while continuing
to grow in balance with their own surroundings.

Night Flight has been constructed with semi-transparent, stretchable fabric from reuse centers, as well as vellum paper (transparent, coloured paper), bendable metal wire, wood, and cardboard. This sculpture is illuminated by battery-powered, LED string lights, set on timers.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ERIC NOCENTE.

Eric Nocente is a local visual artist whose work focuses on human nature and its interconnectedness to the natural world. With over eight years of experience creating sculptures, his work includes various installations around the city, such as the African Spurred Tortoise featured during Zoominescence 2021, the Red Fox at Zoominescence 2019, the Stollery Children’s Hospital front entrance bear, the Canadian Brewhouse Inukshuk, and numerous other sculptures at local mini-golf courses and businesses.

Outside of sculptures, Eric has exhibited illustrations and paintings at numerous venues, including the Rutherford Library at the University of Alberta, as well as at venues in Montreal, Canada, and California, U.S.A.

Follow Eric Nocente:

ericnocente.bigcartel.com