36 Swifts

Today is the opening day of '36 Swifts', an exhibition at Walthamstow Wetlands Engine House 

Mezzanine Gallery 2 Forest Road London N17 9NH.

I am grateful to The London Wildlife Trust for hosting the show and for supporting me.

The show runs from 23rd June to 14th July 2025 and is open 9.30 to 4.30 

Artist’s Statement for ’36 Swifts’ Exhibition 

Dean is a local artist and art therapist, a keen bird watcher and wild camper.

The idea for the exhibition came from a number of sources, inspirations and concerns.

When I was a child growing up in Surbiton I used to watch and listen to swifts, 

swallows and martens as they flew over the filter beds on the Portsmouth Road 

alongside the Thames (the filter beds and the birds have now sadly gone).

There seemed to be thousands of birds high up in the air feeding on the insects 

which in turn lived and bred in the water.

Later I listened to swifts screaming along the streets of Walthamstow where I have 

lived for the last 33 years. This experience was different, these swifts flashed 

through the streets often in tight groups with a sense of urgency and speed.

In the last few years I have noticed fewer and fewer swifts in the streets of E17 and 

this tallies with media coverage and research about the general decline in the UK’s 

swift population. 

In 2023 I took part in (and co curated) an exhibition in the ‘Unsettled Gallery’ called 

‘Alertism’, organised by the artists’ collective Collect Connect. The exhibition was an 

exploration and critique of the government’s use of text alerts and my ‘Alert’ was a 

sculpture and a poem regarding the decline in our swift population.

The original draft title for the exhibition ‘36 Swifts’ was ‘100 Swifts’. Sadly 100 swifts 

seemed too many, a reflection of how swift numbers have plummeted recently. The 

number 36 is linked to the number of swift nesting bricks in the Swift Tower in 

the Engine House at Walthamstow Wetlands, 12 bricks on three sides of the tower.

The Swift sculptures in the Engine House are at rest, a sight most of us rarely see 

as these incredible birds are nearly always flying. Perhaps these swifts have found 

a safe landing place after their arduous and dangerous migration, a feature they 

share with many people as both birds and humans struggle with climate change, 

lack of housing and persecution.

The words stenciled on the sculptures have been provided by a network of bird 

loving people and my thanks to all of you who took part. The words provide a link 

between the sculptures and the poem. The words on the sculptures interact with 

the sadness that the poem expresses and provide us with some hope for the future 

of these beautiful, mysterious birds.