Island Wilderness was a curatorial, design, and fabrication project led by Aubrey Birdwell, developed during a short residency on Harbor Island. With the generous support of Yale Wolf and his studio, Birdwell organized the exhibition, inviting several artists to collaborate in shaping a neon-infused wilderness theme park. Each installation combined Birdwell’s fabrication and engineering expertise with the artistic vision of collaborators, blending their distinct interpretations of wilderness into a cohesive experience.
One of the installations doubled as the show’s advertisement. Designed and painted by Wun Ting Chan, its structure was engineered and built by Birdwell at a sign fabrication shop.
Each artist contributed unique elements, which Birdwell materialized through fabrication, arrangement, and design strategies that unified the exhibition: Ayda Rojhantalab’s taxidermy sculptures were displayed on custom polygonal plinths recessed with neon-lit cavities; Jenny Riffle transformed an entire wall into an immersive, life-sized photographic forest through wheat-pasting; Baso Fibonacci, Yale Wolf, and Birdwell co-created an aluminum and acrylic neon raccoon sculpture; Wolf curated his extensive collection of neon fragments, which Birdwell integrated into the overall design; and Chan collaborated with Birdwell to construct intricate low-poly paper antlers—laser-cut, spray-painted, and reinforced with aluminum—for Butylene O’Kipple’s performance, a fusion of modern dance and drag embodying a faun-like figure.
Birdwell’s role extended beyond curation to encompass design, fabrication, and assembly across all installations, ensuring that each artist’s vision was realized within the larger framework of the exhibition. This integrated, hands-on approach exemplifies Birdwell’s curatorial practice: collaborative, materially engaged, and oriented toward bringing collective visions into a cohesive whole.
