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"Between 2018 and 2020, over 900 rose-ringed parakeets were discretely culled in Massy, a Paris suburb. Despite their centuries-long presence in Europe, the French remain unaccustomed to these birds, largely due to media misinterpretation of scientific data, pressure from the hunting lobby on public institutions, and a lack of archival material on this species. Mimetic Desire is a sound installation set in a speculative 19th-century Parisian interior, where the parakeet is an integral motif in the decor. Archival and handmade objects are reinterpreted to reimagine the past using fiction. In the context of climate breakdown and species extinction, the project challenges how representation impacts perceptions of indigeneity and the environment." - Nadine Botha and Josh Plough, Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Catalogue [2024]

Mimetic Desire [August 2024]

"Between 2018 and 2020, over 900 rose-ringed parakeets were discretely culled in Massy, a Paris suburb. Despite their centuries-long presence in Europe, the French remain unaccustomed to these birds, largely due to media misinterpretation of scientific data, pressure from the hunting lobby on public institutions, and a lack of archival material on this species. Mimetic Desire is a sound installation set in a speculative 19th-century Parisian interior, where the parakeet is an integral motif in the decor. Archival and handmade objects are reinterpreted to reimagine the past using fiction. In the context of climate breakdown and species extinction, the project challenges how representation impacts perceptions of indigeneity and the environment." - Nadine Botha and Josh Plough, Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Catalogue [2024]

© Ronald Smits

118 x 83 cm

46.5 x 32.7 in