Vögelperspektive

Bird's Perspective originated as a performative procession and video installation in Cologne. The project began with the story of Jambga, a young Cameroonian man who died in the city in 1898 after being brought to Germany as part of the colonial Völkerschauen (human exhibitions).

The installation brings together close-up images of flamingo feathers photographed at the Barranquilla Zoo in Colombia and parrot feathers collected in the public spaces of Cologne. Removed from their original contexts, the feathers establish unexpected relationships between places shaped by colonial trade, migration and the movement of living beings.

The first iteration unfolded as a four-day procession linking sites connected to Cologne's colonial history, including the zoo, the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum and Melaten Cemetery, where Jambga is buried. Recordings of flamingos and parrots accompanied the route, while John Cage's Metamorphosis was performed at selected locations.

Later versions adapted the project to exhibition spaces, including the solo exhibition Trabajos Inacabados at Wild Palms in Düsseldorf.