The Great Auk (Pin­guinus impen­nis) and Egg, 2010

MDF, emul­sion paint

Bird: 85 × 27.5 × 27.5 cm

Egg: 12.4 × 7.6 × 7.6 cm

‘ The last pair (great auks), found incub­at­ing an egg, were killed there (Eldey Island, Ice­land) on 3 July 1844, with Jón Brandsson and Sig­urður Ísleifs­son strangling the adults and Ketill Ketils­son smash­ing the egg with his boot.’

Ellis, Richard, No Turn­ing Back: The Life and Death of Anim­al Spe­cies, New York: Harp­er Per­en­ni­al, 2004