Reflection

Reflection

The idea for my piece came during recent visits to NYC, where I noticed pigeons picking at trash and flying off with bits of cardboard and plastic. I couldn’t stop thinking about what they were doing with them. It then occurred to me that they might be using them to build nests, since there’s so little natural material left in urban spaces due to deforestation. That moment stayed with me and became the starting point for my artwork. What amazed me most was how often we overlook urban animals like pigeons, even though they are constantly adapting to the world we’ve created. I wanted to explore their quiet resilience through a dystopian scene: a pigeon builds its nest inside a broken traffic light, using plastic spoons, wires, and yarn pulled from trash piles. Around it are massive garbage mountains, a never-ending road with cars, and machines digging into the land to make room for more buildings. I used colored pencils because they allow me to add fine detail and show natural beauty through contrasting colors, while the gray base paper helps convey emotional tension and the dystopian atmosphere.