Please upgrade your browser

For the best experience, you should upgrade your browser. Visit our accessibility page to view a list of supported browsers along with links to download the latest version.

Show RCA 2019

Amy Haigh

Show RCA work

Major project:

A Series of Intermediate Artefacts


A Series of Intermediate Artefacts* created as anthrozoological** tools to explore similarities and differences in social behaviours of people and birds.




Amy researches a behaviour (eating, for example) through design, by aiming to create an artefact that can be viewed and used in the same way by both a person and a bird.

Embracing the notion of the bizarre and nonsensical, the projects attempt to conduct behavioural research in new ways, morphing existing technologies for unexpected purposes.

As the completed intermediate artefact requires a deep understanding of behaviour patterns, the process of designing it becomes the most important aspect of the work.

Each project investigates one element (the tactile, the sonic, and the visual).

Displayed are the final artefacts alongside video pieces that document the design process.


*Phrase coined by Amy to describe an artefact designed to communicate in the same way (metaphysically) to two or more species.


**The study of human – nonhuman animal interaction

Info

  • Amy Haigh (B. 1991) is an artist & researcher based in South East London, focusing on methods of anthrozoological storytelling through objects and installation. Drawn to the concept of rituals / desire / play working as tools to encourage empathy, she uses a range of sculptural media to both present ︎<> unearth unseen ecological narratives.

    Her work imagines objects from speculative worlds in which all living beings are understood as fully interconnected and categorisations are highly fluid. Sometimes playing with the notion of the nonsensical, her work attempts to awaken alternate ways of ecological thinking and dreaming.

    She prefers that her work is accessible and presented in public space, with priority given to community-led projects. With professional training and experience in animal care and many hours spent conducting field research, she enjoys creating work that ranges from highly functional to purely speculative.

  • Previous degrees

  • BA Graphic Design, Camberwell College of Arts, University of Arts London, 2015; Foundation Diploma, University of Arts London, 2012
  • Experiences

  • Graphic designer (exhibition design), Nissen Richards Studio, London, 2015–2019; Photographic re-toucher, Frisian Ltd., London, 2015; Art assistant, Sony Computer Entertainment, London, 2014
Royal College of Art