These birds were never meant to exist in isolation—they were once part of functional objects, embedded into furniture, cabinets, and decorative panels. In museums, they are now displayed as static artefacts, their original purpose erased. My work recontextualizes these creatures through 3D illustration, offering a renewed perspective on how they are viewed and understood.

Rather than simply replicating them, I explore how digital reconstruction alters our perception of these objects. In their original context, these birds were ornamental, secondary to the larger furniture pieces they adorned. Through 3D visualization, I reposition them as central figures, inviting viewers to reconsider their symbolic significance beyond their decorative function.

There is a paradox in how these birds—once symbols of freedom and flight—have been immobilized by history, first as carved objects, and now as museum displays. Historically, exotic birds like parrots, peacocks, and falcons were kept as status symbols, confined in gilded cages as markers of wealth and conquest. In many ways, these carved birds share the same fate, preserved and displayed for admiration, yet forever static.

By digitally reconstructing them, I do not seek to restore their lost movement, but rather to examine how digital media can shift the way we perceive these historical artifacts. Do they remain trapped within the same frameworks of human classification and curation, or does their isolation in a new medium grant them a different kind of agency? Animals in the Museum is not just an act of visual reconstruction, but an inquiry into how digital media reshapes historical narratives and challenges the way we engage with visual heritage.