Birds of winter, Jamshidieh Park, Tehran, Iran
2018
The Bird Farm is a participatory art project that critically addresses the cruelty of the global fur industry. Drawing on the symbolic contrast between captivity and freedom, the project uses the image of the bird—a universal metaphor for liberation—as a poignant counterpoint to the violence inflicted on animals for fashion.
In this project, participants from diverse communities—youth in Vaasa, Finland (Merenkurkun School), local residents at Abenteuerspielplatz in Ingolstadt, Germany, and children from Nature Schools in Tehran and Yazd, Iran—collaborated with me to create installations of origami birds. Each bird was folded from specially printed paper featuring animal fur textures, turning the representation of exploited skins into a collective act of resistance and hope. The resulting installations evoked a flock in flight, transforming symbols of harm into gestures of release and freedom.
Beyond the act of making, each workshop included discussions about the fur and leather industries, awareness-raising about animal rights, and an introduction to installation art as a socially engaged practice. Through this collective process, The Bird Farm offered space for reflection, dialogue, and creative expression, inviting participants and viewers alike to rethink our relationship with animals and the ethics of consumption.
