While I was researching advances within genomic technology, I became enthralled by the progress biologists were making in the study of endangered animals. These molecular biologists had set themselves the goal of re-engineering previously extinct species and returning them to life. For example, The Flagship Project proposes to bring back the extinct Passenger Pigeon. To achieve this they would use the DNA of specimens found in natural history museums. These preserved DNA fragments would then be engineered with its closest living species, the band-tailed pigeon, to recreate a new breed that is as close as possible to the extinct bird.


I have become fascinated by the creation of new, yet familiar breeds. By combining an existing bird, and mixing it with the DNA of a painting I want to create an entirely new, and wonderful subspecies.


Aniko Erdosi writes, "On Richter Pigeon (Colomba haus sohl) the German master Gerhard Richter’s blurred 1972 landscape painting is seen blended with a pigeon, a species that has been used by humans for racing and for carrying message for centuries, including the two world wars. Roles and places are reversed. We all easily recall the image of a bird in a landscape but how often do we see the landscape being the part of the bird? The blurriness of the source image carried over with purpose."