part of the project and installation 365 BIRDS
sculpture and public program; 24 women share a personal story about a bird
material sculpture: appliqué felt and wood
size sculpture: 310 x 250 CM, blocks: 30 x 30 x 30 CM
Bird Club is a public program alongside Mariëlle Videler’s installation 365 BIRDS. Every day in the afternoon, when the installation can be visited, one of the women shares a personal story about a bird, in the context of the art installation of 365 bird drawings. To share her story the woman lay down on a low sculpture as grey as a rock, a textile application with a geometric motif. The outline of the sculpture is derived from a cat: a common bird predator. Bird Club is inspired by the life and work of the American pioneer naturalist and writer Florence Merriam Bailey (1863-1947). Bailey educated society about live birds in their natural environment, instead of first shooting them for study or decoration. In the late 19th century it was fashionable for women in the United States, as well as in Europe, to wear a hat with colorful feathers or even a whole stuffed bird on top. ‘Her sole weapon wasn’t a gun but an opera glass’.
