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Graphic Design & Illustration
URBAN BIRD PROJECT
Project developed during my 2-months artist residency in Prague (CZ) (September-October 2022) in collaboration with the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University, one of the partners of the MISTRA Environmental Communication (MISTRA-EC) Research Programme.
The visual project means to approach the relationship between humans and nature (and more particularly birds) in the city, and their various power dynamics.
Check out the interactive map to find the artworks' locations
The bird is an element of nature that we encounter the most on a daily basis. But has he not become rather a hybrid creature, who knew so much to adapt to the urban environment that humans have built?
Where is the border between us?
Separation between humans and nature is an abstract concept created by humans; we are part of nature as much as nature is part of us.
Falling feathers as falling leaves in autumn; do we notice them? What do they represent for us: What do they mean to us: the natural and fluid change that fits along the universal timeline, or the inextricable grip of time on our lives?
A privileged relationship with Nature initiates another way of seeing it, but above all constitutes an encounter with oneself, a return on oneself. It sometimes allows a real personal transformation.
While a dove represents a divine messenger, peace and innocence, pigeons represent self-indulgence and slothful ways. Thin differences only perceived by humans between these two species create an unjustified injustice and the pigeons find themselves deprived of their identity as a graceful celestial creature.
Jackdaw and pigeons are very present in the city of Prague and have adapted to humankind and civilization in their own specific ways.
Pigeons can see millions of different colors and are among the best animals on earth for their ability to detect color. They have many more retinal cones than humans, explaining the ability to see in five different spectral bands.
Even though birds have adapted to living in the city, there is always this fear of an unpredictable hostility that can arise from any human towards their species. One day they feed you, and the next day they can kick you...
The inhabitant of the big cities sees the animals only in their appearance of dead flesh that is sold to him at the butcher.
Man is the only animal that inflicts pain on others without a definite purpose. Other animals never do this except to appease their hunger, or in the heat of the struggle.
The true goodness of man can be manifested in all purity and freedom only with regard to those who represent no strength. The real moral test of humanity is its relationship with those at its mercy: animals.
The inner transformation lies in what the Other returns by his difference, because he comes to shake up well-established landmarks. It allows him to go beyond his own representations, profoundly modifies his way of thinking about the world and of registering with it.
Unlike other bird species that stay away from humans, pigeons are there, very close to us. And it is this great closeness to man that is both reproached by some and sought after by others.
Nature has adpated so well to "civilization" that it trancends it now; it finds its own way to grow and proliferate in remote, sometimes impossible places; and non-human animals always know where to go.
Pay attention to the kingdom of the sky; it owns not only the Earth's roof, but also our human roofs. Pay attention between tiles and gutters, window sills and shutters, on antennas and fireplaces; it observes us...
Wonder is the emotion most related to nature. It has a spiritual component. It is an emotion that makes us humble and welds us together.
The animal is, in nature, the only being that seems capable of acting according to the representation of goals, therefore consciously and intentionally. It moves away from the reign of mechanism to that of freedom.
The living, conceived as an assembly of pipes, naturally encompasses man and animal in the same mechanism.
The pigeon, once tamed, but returned to the semi-wild state, brings us back to the unknown, to the fear of the other.
"Birds are synonymous with flight, and as such are a potent symbol and embodiment of many of humanity’s hopes and dreams. They connote both the human and the divine spirit through their soaring freedom of movement, and their linking of earth and sky."
-Andrew Lambirth
-Andrew Lambirth
First we exterminated considerably, then we had to learn to protect, now it's about discovering how to cohabit...
The bird is an element of nature that we encounter the most on a daily basis. But has he not become rather a hybrid creature, who knew so much to adapt to the urban environment that humans have built?
Where is the border between us?
Separation between humans and nature is an abstract concept created by humans; we are part of nature as much as nature is part of us.
Falling feathers as falling leaves in autumn; do we notice them? What do they represent for us: What do they mean to us: the natural and fluid change that fits along the universal timeline, or the inextricable grip of time on our lives?
A privileged relationship with Nature initiates another way of seeing it, but above all constitutes an encounter with oneself, a return on oneself. It sometimes allows a real personal transformation.
While a dove represents a divine messenger, peace and innocence, pigeons represent self-indulgence and slothful ways. Thin differences only perceived by humans between these two species create an unjustified injustice and the pigeons find themselves deprived of their identity as a graceful celestial creature.
Jackdaw and pigeons are very present in the city of Prague and have adapted to humankind and civilization in their own specific ways.
Pigeons can see millions of different colors and are among the best animals on earth for their ability to detect color. They have many more retinal cones than humans, explaining the ability to see in five different spectral bands.
Even though birds have adapted to living in the city, there is always this fear of an unpredictable hostility that can arise from any human towards their species. One day they feed you, and the next day they can kick you...
The inhabitant of the big cities sees the animals only in their appearance of dead flesh that is sold to him at the butcher.
Man is the only animal that inflicts pain on others without a definite purpose. Other animals never do this except to appease their hunger, or in the heat of the struggle.
The true goodness of man can be manifested in all purity and freedom only with regard to those who represent no strength. The real moral test of humanity is its relationship with those at its mercy: animals.
The inner transformation lies in what the Other returns by his difference, because he comes to shake up well-established landmarks. It allows him to go beyond his own representations, profoundly modifies his way of thinking about the world and of registering with it.
Unlike other bird species that stay away from humans, pigeons are there, very close to us. And it is this great closeness to man that is both reproached by some and sought after by others.
Nature has adpated so well to "civilization" that it trancends it now; it finds its own way to grow and proliferate in remote, sometimes impossible places; and non-human animals always know where to go.
Pay attention to the kingdom of the sky; it owns not only the Earth's roof, but also our human roofs. Pay attention between tiles and gutters, window sills and shutters, on antennas and fireplaces; it observes us...
Wonder is the emotion most related to nature. It has a spiritual component. It is an emotion that makes us humble and welds us together.
The animal is, in nature, the only being that seems capable of acting according to the representation of goals, therefore consciously and intentionally. It moves away from the reign of mechanism to that of freedom.
The living, conceived as an assembly of pipes, naturally encompasses man and animal in the same mechanism.
The pigeon, once tamed, but returned to the semi-wild state, brings us back to the unknown, to the fear of the other.
"Birds are synonymous with flight, and as such are a potent symbol and embodiment of many of humanity’s hopes and dreams. They connote both the human and the divine spirit through their soaring freedom of movement, and their linking of earth and sky."
-Andrew Lambirth
-Andrew Lambirth
First we exterminated considerably, then we had to learn to protect, now it's about discovering how to cohabit...
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