Pigeon House Memorial
There is a cave located on a hill in Mustafa Pasha, Cappadocia,. The cave was used through history by people to hide from enemies as is demonstrated by the circular rock that could be rolled in front of the cave entrance from the inside. The people who have created this hiding place have been forgotten among the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and many others who have lived and been displaced from this land by the next wave of invaders. When the Turks came here they made a pigeon house, carving out niches for the pigeons they used as couriers or food, and whose droppings they used as fertilizer. If the pigeons are not fed by the Turkish farmers they leave the pigeon house.
I used this space as a memorial to those who have had to hide or flee for their lives in this area by creating 83 winged clay figures - each a portrait of a Turkish, Greek, Jewish, Armenian, or Assyrian child. Each portrait was based on a Neolithic winged deity. When the candles are lit the shadow from the figure plays inside the niches and resembles a live bird's movements.
