Human beings treat birds as other: strange winged descendants of dinosaurs to be hunted or exploited for eggs, feathers, meat, or companionship. But we also envy birds their power of flight, their freedom of the air.
What is it like to be a pigeon, or to wear a beak, or to watch your arms change into wings? Visitors are invited to join these three artists in celebrating the autonomous existence of birds and, through acts of imagination, break through the barriers that separate us from them.
Monika Tobel campaigns in the guise of a bird for fairness for pigeons, and offers herself as a human bird table for them to feed at.
Annie Rapstoff sews beaks or wears feathers, creating a hybrid bird-human form; the masks become a form of concealment, inducing a freedom to be other than self, and a channel to reveal or shift into another identity, exploring the im/possibility of a halfway existence between human and bird.
Through drawings and film, Cally Trench observes objectively her own ageing body mid-transformation as she metamorphosises into a bird.
The exhibition includes films, photographs, drawings, prints, objects, and an original board game.
About the Artists
Monika Tobel is a London-based Hungarian artist. She completed her BA at the University of Bath and received her MA from Chelsea College of Art. She is currently studying for a Professional Doctorate in Fine Art at the University of East London.
Annie Rapstoff trained in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins (BA) and Middlesex University (MA).
Cally Trench has an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins.
Special Events
Art, Science and the Natural World: Online Discussion
Fri 7 Jul 2023 6-7pm
With the artists and guest speaker Alexis Williams, director of Ayatana’s Biophilium Science School for Artists.
Free event / book tickets here
Exhibition Opening
Sat 15 Jul 2023 3-5pm
Please join the artists for a drinks reception to welcome in this exhibition.
Free event / no booking required
Meet the Artists
Fri 21 Jul 2023 2-3pm
Free event / no booking required
