BIRD OF PASSAGE, 1963
Photographic collage. 8¾ x 5½in. (22.5 x 14.0cm.)
Inscribed on the reverse with the artist's name,thetitle, Paul label and Durchzugen vogel.
Provenance
Private collection.
Exhibited
Hamburg, Gallerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, 1969, No. 27, (as Durchzugen Vogel), dimensions given as 36.5 x 18.25cm.
Bristol, Bristol Arts Centre, 1970, No. 47.
Exeter, City of Exeter Art Gallery, 1972, No. 41.
Penzance, Newlyn Orion Gallery, 1976, No. 75.
Newlyn, Newlyn Art Gallery, 1967, No. 30
A young woman models an opulent winter coat. She emerges from an open suitcase into an environment dominated by the columns of a classical Greek or Roman building. A large bird emerges from the front of the woman’s coat. The pun on ‘bird’ in the title, as both a feathered creature and as a woman is the starting point for any interpretation. The collage then associates the idea of human travel with the migration of birds. For birds the imperative is biological, for humans it is cultural. Similarly, the woman’s stylish coat, which equates to the bird’s plumage, is also a cultural artefact.