Upupa africana (Hoopoe) Possibly 1777 - 1786

"Upupa africana (Hoopoe)" is a drawing made by Robert Jacob Gordon in the late 18th century, depicting a Hoopoe bird from the Cape of Good Hope, now part of South Africa. Gordon was a Dutch explorer, military officer, and naturalist, emblematic of the complex relationships between European enlightenment ideals and colonial expansion. His natural history drawings reflect both a scientific curiosity and the exercise of colonial power through the act of documentation and claiming knowledge. This image of the Hoopoe, carefully rendered with watercolor, speaks to the intersection of natural history, exploration, and colonial encounter. How does the act of capturing the image of the Hoopoe change its existence? Consider the emotional weight carried by these images. They represent the simultaneous wonder at the diversity of life, and the appropriation of that life into a system of knowledge and control.