In 1971, artist Anette Messager began knitting beautiful, tiny sweaters for dead birds. The sweaters come in a variety of colors, and are shaped to fit each bird carcass. What a poetic and tender way to celebrate these bird's lives. I wish that every dead bird could rest in one of these sweaters. (Messager's work reminded me of another fantastic artist, Jeffery Vallance, who held a funeral service for a grocery store chicken named Blinky The Friendly Hen.) See the bittersweet photos from Messager's project here.
From Instagram:
"I found my voice as an artist when I stepped on a dead sparrow on a street in Paris in 1971. I didn't know why, but I was sure this sparrow was important because it was something very fragile that was near me and my life. Like the people I love, these small birds were always around me, yet they remained strange and mysterious. So I picked up the sparrow, took it home and knit a wool wrap for it. Why? I can't say. You want to do something and don't know why – all you know is that you have no choice, that it's a necessity." – Annette Messager
