Java Sparrow, 2017
After learning about the challenges these birds face, Claire began to see the wallpaper as a symbol of the man-made interiors these birds inhabit when we acquire them as pets. Though the birds might appear to be in harmony with their carefully curated background, it is a far cry from the environments they call home. The series reflects a long historical tradition in which nature has been transformed into objects for our own enjoyment and pleasure, for decoration and status.
American Goshawk, 2021
The use of Victorian wallpaper motifs references an era when Europe unleashed colonisation across the globe and, with it, the brutal domination of faraway places, creatures and cultures. As ‘discoveries’ were displaced to Europe and the Americas, they fuelled aviary collection and display as part of an impulse to collect and catalogue the natural world.
If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://mastodon.social/users/appassionato/statuses/116248045312113922 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)
