FLIGHT - 2016

This video represents an attempt to depict what was discovered behind the two photos, selected from a longer series, as will be seen, as well as to reveal how they were taken in the year 2016.

A dull thud was heard one day from one of the 18 windows of my spacious studio, located on the upper floor of the house where I live. Engrossed in work, I hadn't intended to investigate what had happened.

About two weeks later, on a chilly late autumn morning, stepping onto the studio terrace, I found a dead pigeon in front of one of the windows. Then I made the connection with that forgotten thud.

I was struck by the image of that unfortunate pigeon, prompting me to take a few photographs and even film it for a few seconds.

Several weeks later, one evening as I ascended to the studio to switch off the forgotten light illuminating the darkened terrace, I was taken aback by a bright spot on one of the windows overlooking the terrace. Upon careful observation, the imprint left by the pigeon, after all this time, was revealed on the glass where it had collided. It was such a powerful image, with so many details, that I couldn't help but be deeply moved. It seemed as if the 'spirit' of the pigeon in that collision had emerged from the lifeless body in front of that window, remaining imprinted on the glass for all to see. For several months, I kept that imprint on the studio window, and everyone who looked at it felt the same way.

Then, before cleaning that window, I thought to immortalize the mysterious imprint and took some photographs. Walking onto the terrace, I realized it was positioned, when viewed from the studio, directly above my head. Thus, this video was born.

After taking those photographs, I noticed a striking resemblance to others taken several years before, in the exact same spot on the terrace, also during an evening, as part of another experiment I will present another time.

Months later, I tried searching the internet for information about birds colliding with windows and found quite a few photographs documenting bird imprints from such collisions worldwide. I found out that this phenomenon is a major ecological issue and that all glass buildings kill billions of birds annually.