The Nor’easter storm churning along the Atlantic Coast is keeping this birder indoors this weekend. I’ve turned my attention to a new exhibit at Princeton University that elegantly draws attention to threats to nature and how to respond to them.
The exhibition “What Is Missing? What If?” opened this week in the newly opened environmental sciences building on the Princeton campus. On Thursday evening, I was at Briger Hall for a film screening at an auditorium that’s next to the exhibition.
“What Is Missing? What If” is the work of Maya Lina, who as a Yale University undergraduate became instantly famous when her design was chosen for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Lin’s latest work at Princeton is a two-story multimedia presentation displayed on windows and glass doors. Projected are images of giraffes, whales, tigers, elephants and other animals threatened with extinction and making comebacks thanks to conservation efforts.
When I first glanced at the exhibit, I saw a common loon displayed. Bald eagles, their population once decimated by DDT and other factors and now rebounding, soared across the screen. Wild turkeys strutted and pecked in snowy woods.
In viewing the images, I felt a cautious optimism about the future of our natural world. Occasionally, I’ve been cheered by seeing bald eagles fly over or near the Princeton campus, which features two other Maya Linn installations.
“What Is Missing? What If?” is open to the public weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with extended availability to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. There is no charge to view. For a deeper dive into the exhibition, please see the university’s excellent feature story about it.