Messengers and Promises

2022

In Norilsk there are many pipes, strange stones underfoot and dove-colored clouds. People are digging up valuable resources from nearby mountains. For centuries, shamans climbed there to recharge with the energy of the Sun, which almost never sets in the short northern summer.

About ten years ago, pigeons were first spotted here — a species that had long been absent from this climate. In local beliefs, the most important place is occupied by winged demiurges. At the same time, images of synanthropic species, including pigeons, are not found for obvious reasons. John Berger wrote that animals are able to surprise us with secrets addressed specifically to humans. What if it’s time we tried to decipher these messages?

As I reflect, my gaze returns to the landscape, and my thoughts drift forward. The camera in my hands tangles everything. The resulting photographs depict a world that exists everywhere and nowhere, today and tomorrow. A harmless bird captured in this way frightens me.

The pigeon doesn’t care. It lives where it can.