In 1962, scientist Rachel Carson published her magnum opus, Silent Spring. In this book, she documents over ten years of research on the effects of pesticides on the soil and animal life in the USA and Europe. The book focuses on the decline of bird life in areas where pesticides were widely used. Through this research, Carson began the early conversation on ecology, and preceded the idea of the ‘Anthropocene’, now a common term in journals and newspapers. The term refers to the era when human beings began to change the environment that we operate in, primarily through large-scale industry.

The Repeated Refrains of Nature is an artwork created in 2019 by visual artist and researcher Shane Finan. The artwork takes its name from a quote by Carson from her book, The Edge of the Sea: ‘There is something infinitely healing in these repeated refrains of nature, the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.’

The Repeated Refrains of Nature is an interactive digital artwork that uses six video monitors to show videos of common garden birds feeding, presented much like a security control room multi-monitor setup. When a person enters the room, the birds fly off screen, leaving empty feeders. By remaining motionless, the birds may reappear, suggesting that reducing (negative) action can reduce the loss of species populations. Technology holds the artwork together as both monitor and controller. Beginning with the concept of bird depopulation.

Biodiversity can be a metaphor for diversity in general. In current works, Finan uses biodiversity to encourage collaboration between human participants, in conversation and action. Through this, the audience become active actors of diversity, becoming part of a commons that is created by the artwork.