Tailfeathers of the passenger pigeon

2024, Jacquard weaving, cotton, wool and linen, interwoven with silver 230x170 cm
made in collaboration with the TextielLab, professional workshop at the Textile Museum, Tilburg

The passenger pigeon, who used to be one of the most common birds in the world, is among the first documented species to go extinct entirely by humans. Their huge flocks of millions were said to darken the sky for hours at a time, but their numbers rapidly dwindled due to overhunting and habitat destruction from deforestation, particularly following European colonization. The last known wild passenger pigeon was shot in 1900.

In my work, I employ the slow art of weaving, as a homage depicting the tail feathers of a passenger pigeon from the ornithological collection of the Naumann Museum.