So the extinction of my species doesn’t just mean the loss of a group of birds. It’s also the disappearance of our language, our rituals, our traditions. It’s the silencing of our voice. Human activity has brought my kind to the brink of extinction, but I don’t blame them for it. They didn’t do it maliciously. They just weren’t paying attention.

 

- The Great Silence, Ted Chiang

​

'The Silent Death' is a work inspired by an excerpt from The Great Silence, written by Ted Chiang. It depicts a passenger pigeon lost in the 1890s New York City, struggling to survive in the urban.

 

As the last of its species, the pigeon's death not only highlights the cruelty of industrialisation on the wild inhabitants, but also evokes a sense of loss and prompts reflection on the irreversible impact of human progress on biodiversity and delicate balance of our ecosystem.