passenger pigeon, 1914

Happy New Year everyone! In the spirit of celebrating ends and welcoming beginnings, here’s the first part of series I’ve been working on for the past couple of months. The last passenger pigeon died in 1914, its species decimated by hunting and pollution (though recent research suggests that populations may have been cleared out by a strain of lyme disease). The passenger pigeon’s skull is near weightless and exquisite in its delicacy. This particular skull was found in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on an archeological dig and I loved it on first sight at the owner’s apartment in Queens.

cut paper and gold leaf, 10"x20"

While this species and others were taken for granted during their existence, all we have left are their bones, which are beautiful and tragic and worth more than their weight in gold.

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