Alfred, 2012

Birds are regular protagonists in Jordan’s living sculptures. In the performative intervention Alfred (2011) she sets out to attract birds to her own body by dressing in a handmade bread suit and standing in places, where she might be seen or pursued by birds – but as it turns out, often to no avail. The urban context the protagonist initially appears in, as well as the lack of birds initially suggests that she is dressed in what appears to be an ethnic outfit of unknown provenance. Only incrementally closer shots reveal that the figure is in fact wrapped in pita bread halves and is roaming the city in the hopes of finding birds hungry enough to approach the bread-suit-figure. Alfred in New York is also based upon the same-titled debut film The Birds (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The work shows one from the outside into the reality breaking apocalyptic feature, beyond causality, by the lamination of aggression and provocation. The photography was taken with wild starlings in New York 2013.

Alfred (2011) Edition 1/7 + 2 AP C-Print Dimension: 60cm x 40 cm Photo credit: Arielle Bier Alfred in New York (2013) Edition 1/7 + 2 AP C-Print Dimension: 60cm x 40 cm Photo credit: Jessica Segall Text: Pauline Doutreluingne