Three Points Of View

For this project I chose to study pigeons. They seem to bring out strong emotions in society and too often you see people with negative views on them. I thought this was something that could be expanded upon and hopefully an opportunity to change some misconceptions about them.

Pigeons have been a big part of our history and most people don’t realise that we encouraged them to live beside us. We bred them to race and to carry messages. They were used in the war and some even received medals. They can tell the difference between art styles and have basic numeracy skills. They are also monogamous and have strong bonds with their partners. Pigeons are much more intelligent and sentient than we give them credit for.

So often you hear remarks of revulsion made about these birds. Sometimes this is accompanied by encouragement to be physically violent towards them. People perceive them to be dirty, diseased and disgusting but in truth they carry no more diseases than other birds and can end up dirty because of the world they inhabit, not an inherent dirty nature. They are adaptable animals which is why they have managed to thrive in cities and as such have become a part of our world.

These two aspects of pigeons in society reflect the first two points of view. The third point of view, and inspiration for the structure of my project, comes from a relatively recent addition to my life. Roughly eight months ago I rescued a lost little pigeon I called Pebble. I tried everything to reunite her with her home but despite this I was unable to do so. Since then she has become a much loved part of my household and lives in my living room with her friend Penny, another pigeon. Pebble’s story became the basis of my project, and a tale as random and remarkable as this needed telling properly. So I wrote a children's story about it. I often wonder what Pebble’s life was like before I met her and for how long she was lost before I found her. The story is about some situations I imagined may have happened to her that wind their way through the three points of view.

Having two pigeons in my living room was perfect inspiration for sketching. I made many sketches of their day to day activities. I tried to keep up with their constant preening, snacking and bath times with lots of quick sketches, along with lots of photos to use for references. I roughed out Pebble’s story which helped to expand upon certain ideas and become more creative about telling a visual story.

As much as I’d love to fully illustrate the whole of Pebble’s story I am limited on time for this project. So instead I focused on creating the three final pieces- one for each point of view: pigeons as a commodity, as a pest and as a friend. I practised a lot with colour and composition and made colour palettes to help reinforce my story. I chose watercolour paint for my medium because I like the fluidity of it. It creates an ethereal quality with its translucency and you can develop from softness of pastel tones to deep rich hues with more layers of paint.

With reflection I think my final pieces are successful, however there are some elements I would have done differently. With more time I think I could have practised through more roughs and finessed more for each piece.

For the first piece. I didn’t want to portray pigeon houses as evil places but as a place of boredom. The pigeons are sitting waiting in line and Pebble is squished in the middle and wishing to fly free. The inside colours are muted while the outside is vibrant and exciting.

For the second piece I wanted to portray aggression. I thought about what a pigeon's perspective would look like trying to escape from mindless hatred. The branches were inspired from bird spikes that used to be placed on trees. I hoped these would inspire feelings of unease and danger with their jagged lines and points. The faces screaming out of the black I hoped would look monstrous and yet still human. If I could redo this piece I likely wouldn’t include the branches, I think it would look stronger without them.

For the third piece I wanted a heartwarming image of home comforts. I wanted to evoke feelings of warmth, light and good company. One of Pebble’s favourite activities is to sit on heads; it’s a sign of trust and a bond shared. I thought there’s no better way to display trust and joy than by sitting by a fire.