M— P

2013, 80 x 40 x6", Pigeon Feathers inside brown paper bags, wood shelf, 2" brass tubing.

Feather Bed was done at a time when I was using the bed image to look at the subject of homelessness. I collected the feathers from New York City streets over a two month period. The feathers are a metaphor for making or finding your bed. During the collecting process I would gather and hold the feathers inside brown paper bags also found on the street. The kind of bag used for half-pint liquor bottles. I realized that homeless people and pigeons were finding shelter in the same margins of the city - under bridges, alleyways, parks, and along the East River. Feather Bed is displayed with 2” brass tubing, an architectural accessory used in entryways and lobbies of New York apartment buildings and hotels. This subtle and powerful material asks the question: “Do you belong here or not?” It is a coded detail that denotes class. The disparity and polarity of rich and poor becomes greater with time.