KMSKA LATE - Still a Bird - Rebecca Lenaerts

A creature from another world alights amongst the paintings. 
In Still a Bird, Birdwoman appears: half human, half bird, a mythical figure who guards the boundary between the human and natural worlds. Performance artist Rebecca Lenaerts brings her to life in the fauna & flora gallery of the old collection. Surrounded by birds, animals and still lifes, this strange, vulnerable creature seems to have escaped straight out of the paintings.

Birdwoman’s origins lie in a ritual spanning many years. Rebecca Lenaerts collected bird feathers she found on the street. Each feather was carefully washed, dried, treated and finally sewn by hand onto a blanket. Thousands of feathers together form a second skin: a precious covering that both offers protection and creates a new form.

In this long-durational performance, Birdwoman moves slowly between stillness and change, between object, animal and human. Her presence invites us to look differently: at the nature around us, at our own bodies and at the stories hidden in what often goes unnoticed.

Still a Bird asks for no haste. The performance unfolds over time. Those who continue to watch are transported to a world in which humanity, nature and the imagination are reconnected.