Bird Cages

The Bird Cage Project, explored the partnership of birds and owners, prompting thoughts on confinement, without their natural habitat, fitting into a domestic home. Whether Birds are brought in as a companion or not, their presence in the home environment creates a visual power within the living space. There is also a distinct likeness between the birds and the décor around them, giving an insights into different aspects of the owner’s life. While the obvious answer would be to suggest that the birds were chosen to t into their surroundings, it is worth considering whether the colours and set-up of the homes have, in fact, been inspired by the birds The images convey a range of colour, energy and details, capturing the change of landscape but not the view point, creating a clear narrative and profile of the birds and the owners.

The bird in its cage. Some are for decoration. Some sing to you. Some become your companion, friend and family member.

While visiting a friend in Seville, I saw a little bird in a cage, in his mother’s kitchen.
As soon as saw this, I instantly knew that I wanted to create a series of images about birds fitting into a domestic, home environment and how the visual power of these animals affects a man-made setting. It’s quite common to keep birds in Spain, so Barcelona seemed like a natural choice to find subjects - as it’s large but easy to navigate.

Shooting at five to six locations a day with travel time in between, we managed to shoot the project in five days and visited 24 homes in and around Barcelona.

I soon found that whether the birds had been introduced to decorate the home, or brought in as a companion, they were prominent within the living space. I was keen to explore how this story could demonstrate the partnership of bird and owners, while also prompting thoughts on confinement and unnatural habitat.

A couple of the bird’s owners wanted to emphasise that housing a bird, a wild creature, brings with it the burden of responsibility – some birds, especially parrots, are very sensitive creatures, with complex emotional attachments and a long life span.Every household that I visited was proud of their winged inhabitant and in every image, the grandiosity of the bird is immediately apparent. There is also a distinct likeness between the birds and the décor around them.

While the obvious answer would be to suggest that the birds were chosen to t into their surroundings, it is worth considering whether the colours and set-up of the homes have, in fact, been inspired by the birds.

The images give insights into other aspects of the owner’s life - social position, age, interests. In order to capture these nuances, I wanted the images to convey the full range of colour, energy and detail in front of me.

I decided upon an angle and remained consistent throughout, wanting the landscape to change but not the view point. I chose to photograph more of the space than just the bird and cage, to create a clearer narrative and profile of the owners.

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