visionaire issue n°26 ‘fantasy’

Birds by KIKI SMITH (b. 1954, Germany)

Kiki Smith was raised Catholic and draws heavily on traditional bird symbolism. She uses birds—particularly doves, which represent peace, the Holy Ghost, and freedom—to examine spirituality and mortality.

She kept birds as a child for over a decade. This lifelong affection evolved into a desire to incorporate animals into her art to represent our shared instincts, movement, and vulnerability.

Her process is deeply tactile. She often creates bird reliefs and sculptures using materials like bronze, aluminum, and silver. She views the natural behavior of birds as its own form of environmental "technology"—using the things around them to flourish and build architecture.

There's worse to come, folks. Strap in and stay strapped.

The Westbury Horse, 1939 by Eric Ravilious