Taub Pigeons
Pigeons are not just pigeons. To me, they represent the workings of a society, displayed through primal instinct. They are complex creatures that exhibit dominance and a primal need to consume, much like humans do.
Pigeons are synanthropic animals, meaning they are wild but predisposed to live at the expense of human waste. I feel a connection to pigeons. I too feel predisposed to consume and think a certain way. I spend hours scrolling through Instagram, consuming the same old content. I eat a diet of brown and yellow food. What difference is there between my programming and that of a pigeon? I sympathize with pigeons, but I also slightly envy them for their simpler life.
The slip-cast pigeons in my installation serve as a metaphor for humans in this stagnant state. They are casts of decoy pigeons, a copy of an imitation, symbolizing our vices, mundane living, and primal instinct to survive. The pigeons reflect their environment, They adapt to what their world looks like.
I call the pigeons “Taub,” the German word for both pigeon and deaf. Both meanings can be interchangeable. “Pigeon” can be used as a quasi-insult to describe someone who can’t hear or understand, someone who can’t or won’t listen. Someone who becomes a pigeon and avoids problems by flying away. In the current state of our world, I think we are all being pigeons. We are all Taub.
Pigeons represent urban life, the life of a wild animal tamed and underutilized by city living. Throughout history, pigeons have been used as a social network to relay messages, some of the most regarded and needed animals in societies. Now, they’re scrap, ignored. I feel sorrow for them, and I want to honor them in this exhibition, which is why I have given them shiny legs.
Pigeons are called vermin. They feed on the scraps of human waste and consume all our negative energies. And yet, they survive. If pigeons just eat our waste, are we too the vermin? They are hearty creatures who use numbers to survive. They stay strong. They represent a beautiful, resilient society.
