Green dead parrot 

Curator: Here we have "Green dead parrot," a striking ceramic sculpture, presumably from Kinder Album, showcasing both artistry and raw emotionality. What's your immediate take? Editor: Well, it's certainly arresting. The stillness of the piece against that somewhat bleak background—the suggestion of snow, the weathered wood—creates a sense of melancholy. There's an undeniable gravity despite the vibrant glazes. Curator: I agree. It’s difficult to ignore the artist’s choice of portraying death, especially for something as associated with mimicry and often jovial color, something like a parrot. The lifelessness feels jarring, considering the species' association with colonial trade and often exploitation and cultural appropriation, even enslavement within those practices. The choice to sculpt it in ceramic and glaze it gives me pause, it emphasizes the act of making, the labor involved in this deathly depiction. Editor: It really does bring materiality to the forefront. You can imagine the artist carefully shaping and firing this figure, emphasizing the transition from pliable clay to a rigid form – death being similarly inflexible. Curator: And notice how the texture and color are juxtaposed? The smoothness of the glaze emphasizes the stillness, while the deliberate, handmade marks—that's where I sense tension. Editor: Absolutely. The high-gloss finish of the ceramic contrasts the rough grain of the wood, adding a visceral layer to the viewing experience. It encourages you to consider what surfaces mean, to want to touch, to feel, in this morbid reality. Curator: For me, that positioning, laid bare on the cold boards, speaks volumes about how we view species, like parrots that have endured, or perhaps, have suffered under cultural appropriation, existing simultaneously as commodified objects, subjects of obsession, or something now easily dismissed. Editor: So it really turns consumption on its head— the lifecycle. We see an object, once cherished maybe, now defunct, stripped of its liveliness, rendered as inert matter. The shiny ceramic transforms into something closer to funereal marker. Curator: In the end, it becomes a poignant question regarding the way humans are complicit in these destructive consumerist trends, and perhaps we, in turn, feel its very effect, but in an unengaged way. Editor: This piece lingers in the mind—forcing contemplation on materiality, consumption, and inevitable conclusion to labor in an object. Curator: Indeed, a profound intersection between aesthetics, cultural commentary, and unsettling reality of labor to sustain such economies of life.