By Jenny Zeller
It’s been an exciting year of giant art installations at Bernheim! 2019 Regional Artist in Residence, Justin Roberts, a Kentucky Crafted Artist from Murray, is currently in the final week of creating a conceptual, environmentally sound, eco-land-art installation entitled “Sounds of a Whippoorwill – Bernheim”. This installation is meant to bring awareness to the eastern whip-poor-will bird population, whose environment is continually encroached upon by invasive plant species.
With the help of many volunteers, Justin has harvested invasive species throughout the arboretum most threatening to the whippoorwill habitat including numerous Bradford pear trees, honeysuckle and autumn olive bushes.
This installation is built by first using harvested invasive species and then completed by weaving the sustainable willow around these invasive species, allowing the opportunity for this natural resource to overpower those species not native to this region. The work will also highlight a long term whippoorwill research project at Bernheim, which is some of best habitat remaining in Kentucky.
Located on the back side of Lake Nevin, near giant, Little Elina, “Sounds of a Whippoorwill – Bernheim” will be unveiled at this years CONNECT event on Saturday August 24th from 6:23 to 10:23 p.m. Come to CONNECT, meet the artist and experience art in nature at it’s finest!
“Sounds of a Whippoorwill – Bernheim” is a companion piece to “Sounds of a Whippoorwill – Josephine” currently on display at the Josephine Sculpture Park in Frankfort, Kentucky. Connecting these installments encourages the public to seek out the individual parts, creating a communal interest in both organizations. Each installment will be site-specific and unique but clearly connected. See pictures of that project on Justin Robert’s facebook page by clicking HERE.
