Dodo in Finland Painting

birdcage.me The dodo is a bird that became extinct more than 300 years ago. It was originally a flightless bird that lived on a small, beautiful island off the coast of Mauritius in southern Africa, but it became complacent and forgot its ability to fly, and was eventually hunted to extinction by the Portuguese who discovered it. ​ I thought this story had a message for modern humans. Just as the dodo gave up its identity as a bird and forgot how to fly, we can become complacent, accepting the world's standards and values without question, and one day forget what's really important to us. With this in mind, in 2015, I traveled to the island of Mauritius, where the dodo is believed to be extinct. I was selected for the 'Ilhyun Travel Grant' program hosted by the Ilhyun Museum of Art in Korea, which gave me the opportunity to spend a month in Mauritius conducting research on the dodo, and since then, I have been using the dodo to tell a story about contemporary dreams, possibilities, and freedom. ​ Dodo means “dumb,” a name given to them by the Portuguese sailors who first discovered them because they were flightless, but I like to think that the dodos in my artwork are not “dumb, flightless birds,” but rather “eggs” that hold the potential to soar again. Although they are long extinct, these dodos have been reborn on canvas and have embarked on a new journey full of wonderful adventures, and I hope they will inspire you with their endless imagination and sparkle.