The Ring, 2009

The Ring, 2009 from Arnika Müll on Vimeo.

The video "The Ring" (2009) documents a interaction within the urban landscape. It depicts Parisian street pigeons attempting to feed on soft baguette rings. As the birds peck at the bread, the elastic rings bounce unpredictably on the grey concrete, repeatedly slipping away from their reach.
The work intensely addresses the poor reputation of these animals: frequently disparaged as "rats of the sky," the pigeons here become the protagonists of an absurd game of chance. The objective of the action is for one of the bread rings to land perfectly around a pigeon's neck through the sheer randomness of motion. Once achieved, the baguette—a classic French symbol—transforms into a temporary adornment: a majestic ring. Equipped with this provision-laden "spare ring," the pigeon rises above its existence in the gutter. The piece thus becomes an elevation of a marginalized synanthrope.