Fernando do Campo: To companion a companion

To companion a companion is a playful exhibition of new work by Argentinean-Australian artist Fernando do Campo that proposes humans as a companion species to birds.

The term ‘companion species’ was popularised in the academic work of ecofeminist Donna Haraway, specifically her 2003 publication The Companion Species Manifesto. In this text Harraway explores the curious relationships humans have established with dogs across histories and cultures, describing how these two species evolved in tandem within a complex interplay of functional exchanges. Do Campo’s To companion a companion pushes Harraway’s concept of ‘companioning’ a step further, opening up the idea of companioning as a methodology for developing more ethical and meaningful human—animal relationships.

In do Campo’s work, it is the history of our co-habitation with birds rather than with dogs that comes into focus. While many of our more adored and revered bird species are indigenous to their environment, others have been introduced into new landscapes as part of wider colonialist and nationalist projects. Today, the legacy of these historical relationships exist around us but often escapes unnoticed, forming part of a sonic landscape that reveals how human history distorts environments and ecologies.

To companion a companion is a humorous, often cheeky, ode to the companion species that flit amongst us..

Image: Fernando do Campo, Pishing in the archive, 2021, single channel HD video, (production still).