I Make Paintings Based On The Fabled Story Of The Bowerbird

For those of you who have not seen the many video clips from BBC documentaries, the Bowerbird is a unique bird that generally populates places such as Australia and New Guinea. They can live within the cities or in the forests, depending on which type of Bowerbird they are. The reason why I became fascinated with the bird itself is because of their fabled mating ritual. Male Bowerbirds are famous for collecting small objects, such as berries, pebbles, blue bottle caps, or even shiny beetles. The bird will also collect sticks and twigs to build a structure called a bower. He then carefully arranges all of his found treasures in front of the bower. It is an incredibly elaborate production and can take years to perfect. Some bowerbirds are known to work on the same bower for their entire lives, carefully collecting objects and sticks, arranging and then rearranging them over and over again. When a female shows up, she inspects the whole operation. She looks over the structure of the bower and combs through the objects the Male Bowerbird has gathered for her. If she sticks around, the Male Bowerbird takes his cue and begins to dance and sing. Is she likes everything she sees, they mate. But if she doesn’t, then she leaves, and the Male Bowerbird must try again.

The Fabled Story of the Bowerbird is really about all of our lives. We get dressed up in the morning, we put on makeup, and we decorate our homes. We do all of this to say, “Hello, World! THIS IS WHO I AM!!!” And the story is also very much the story of Artists. We make things, show them off, and hope for some approval and appreciation.

I have spent the last few years exploring this story of Love and Art. Just like the bird, I collected objects and sticks and built “bowers” in my art studio, though not very structurally sound. (Certainly, no Female Bowerbird would have been impressed.) From there, I developed a series of paintings exploring the many presentations and the gifts the Bowerbird presents to his potential mate. I would use my own bowers as a bounce-off point. From there, I also designed patterns to add to the scenes. The patterns would change the atmosphere of the spaces as well as mirror the way people use wallpaper to alter the look of their own homes. I also began adding the homes themselves into my work as a way to offer a safe, warm environment for his Love. Eventually, I added much more modern elements to the presentations with neon, such as the signs bearing the word “YOU.” The “YOU” addresses the viewer explicitly, as though to say, “I see YOU. I hope YOU see ME, too.”

More info: gigichen.com | Instagram