TAUBENHAUS
THE BIG PERCH
(1998 – 2002 -)
Project abstract by Martin Walde
"The Big Perch" visualizes a taboo. It realizes an idea that seems counterproductive at first - the concept of a perch for urban pigeons. The initial question was whether urban pigeons are to be regarded as wild pigeons, or rather as a domesticated or hybrid form of the wild pigeon. This distinction is significant, given that the needs of a wild pigeon are fundamentally different from those of the domesticated form and, by consequence, the design requirements for a perch are bound to be equally different.
In an attempt to answer this question and capture this process in a concrete
form, Martin Walde first started to cooperate with ornithologist and artist
Ernst Trawoeger. The result is shown in the collage to the right. This
fictitious model provided the basis for their cooperation with ESCAPE*spHERE.
Project abstract by ESCAPE*spHERE:
The opportunity
of working on "The Big Perch" with artists Martin Walde and
Ernst Trawoeger was accepted by ESCAPE*spHERE as a highly interesting
challenge:
We are fascinated
by the project, notably by the intrinsic intersection of sculptural and
political expression in the focus issue of the pigeon population in urban
habitats, and the task of designing potential shelters or nesting places
for some of the urban pigeons.
Our part in this cooperation, as we perceive it, is to transform the three-dimensional image of a hovering Moebius strip into a constructible object, keeping the structural design of the actual, or prospective, Perch as close as possible to the original image without running the risk of resorting to literal translation.
Image left: Initial collage of the "Big Perch"
