Before the Silence

What does it feel like to witness extinction?

Before the Silence is a photographic exhibition by Astrid Erasmuson which explores the rapid decline of the northern population of hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins).

Through large-scale imagery, projection, and sound, the exhibition shifts between presence and absence. Visitors encounter landscapes where hoiho remain, and others where they have already disappeared. Traces linger in sand and forest, echoes of movement, and signs of care.

Set in Ōtepoti Dunedin, where hoiho hold deep cultural and environmental significance, this work invites us to reflect on what is being lost and what responsibility we carry for what comes next.

Before the Silence will be closed from 17 – 18 July for Otago Harbour's Secret Sea Life Scavenger Hunt.