In the bustling streets of Sydney, a person recently returned home from a trip to northern Tasmania, only to be met with feelings of despair. Their lived experience is a flat on a big arterial road, with three vape shops within walking distance. This busy environment stands in stark opposition to the peace and quiet they enjoyed on their short vacation. This contrast between urban life and the natural world showcases the internal conflict that many city residents experience.
On the same walk home from work, the person noticed a murder of crows. Underneath the spotlight, they squatted down together to share the warmth of a found loaf of bread. The view of these tough critters, frequently forgotten even among the urban landscape, just blew me away. They were a testament to the greatness and the challenge of life in a city. Pigeons, animals which have lived alongside people for hundreds of years, are just one species that flourish among our urban refuse.
The all-too-brief trip to Tasmania’s far north was a true delight. The couple longed for an escape from their busy day-to-day life. They believed that they would discover tranquility surrounded by the natural world, far from the clamor and diversions of Sydney. When they came back, they were profoundly discouraged. As they drove their once-familiar route home, it was transformed, now lined with vape shops and abandoned lives.
With or without this personal story, the experience described continues to expand people’s ideas about mobility justice. The city is known for its vibrant culture and lifestyle but can impose an overwhelming sense of despair on its residents. Vape shops, which had come to represent the city’s rapidly changing landscape, dotted their route. Today’s conveniences have mostly replaced those simple joys.
Pigeons have made this landscape their own, picking through scraps of food, and creating a society of their own amongst themselves. Their story, their capacity to overcome obstacles and adversity, speaks to and reinforces the individual’s own narrative of resilience and struggle. While they grappled with their emotions upon returning to their flat, the sight of the pigeons reminded them that life continues, even amidst chaos.
Sydney has created new ways for people to experience their surroundings, like a scenic walk home from work. This routine is at once centering and alienating, especially when set in stark contrast to the increasing scale of profit-driven commercialization across our cities. For most of us, this is the ultimate encouragement. It illustrates, in an indelible way, what we lose with that transition to bustling urban living.
The pigeons, quite unconcerned with the moral quandaries of humanity, offer a uniquely organic foil to the craziness of the city. Of course, they’ll eat whatever they can find, including food that humans throw away, highlighting their opportunistic feeding behavior. The artist is caught in the tension between their longing for a deeper, more purposeful life and the wounding realities of contemporary existence. These unrealistic demands render their dreams impossible.