Julie Oakes: porcelain wings
Julie Oaks, Fallen Wren, porcelain, with neighborhood guest
a memorial
Art, memory and a historical anniversary intersect in this installation of porcelain works by Julie Oakes.
From her studio outside of Vancouver, the artist sent us a pair of porcelain white wrens, from her recent series of hundreds: one crumpled and grounded, the other with wings widespread, attempting to fly away. On the anniversary of 9/11, these two birds are icons of Oake's experience as a witness and survivor of the destruction of the World Trade Center.
September 11th, 2001, was a perfect September morning, and the towers must have reflected the clear blue sky for miles. There were a lot of stories about birds and the World Trade Center in the weeks after the attacks. We remember this one in the New York Times: One man, heading to his office in the World Trade Center, stopped to help a small bird on the ground that had apparently collided with one of the towers. This made him late for work, so he was not in his office when the first plane hit. Saving the bird saved his life.
Installation detail
Installation detail
Julie Oakes writes:
“The bird was in flight, moving freely through space. A window may appear as a portal through the concrete, a passageway rather than an obstruction—or perhaps it is the reflection of the bird itself, kindred and flying forward—that attracts. Whatever the attraction, it lies outside of the cycle of nature in which the bird participates.
As environmental stress awakens mankind to his responsibility to consider the consequences of his actions, the metaphor between the bird smashing into the window and man ‘hitting the wall’ is evident. A reflection on the clash between morals, ethics and cultures, embodied in the tragedy of the Twin Towers.
Oakes’ porcelain wrens were installed on the tree and below. The pieces are carefully detailed and crafted with care. Oakes has explored many installation projects focusing on the wild—human and other.
Please see the depth and breadth of Julie’s paintings, drawings, prints and writings at JulieOakes.com, and explore her curatorship and projects at headbonesgallery.com
Thank you, Julie!
The absolutely best art shipping package we have every received!