The Northern Bald Ibis (kelaynak in Turkish) is the most threatened migratory bird in the Middle East. Once widespread throughout Afro-Eurasia, this species was considered sacred in Antiquity. Today, hunting, habitat loss, pesticide poisoning and regional conflict have left only two colonies surviving in the wild. In 2010, one colony that migrates between northeast Africa and the Turkish-Syrian border faced extinction due to human conflict. In 2016, the Kelaynak Reproduction Center in Birecik, Turkey—which has kept a small population in semi-captivity since the 1970s—decided not to release the birds from their cages during the migratory season. The official aim was to protect them; the result was a profound disturbance of their fundamental instincts and habits.
The Golden Cage is a meditation on the plight of these endangered birds. For artist Hakan Topal, the kelaynak is an emblem of broader ruptures in ancient ecologies and local cultures. His installation pairs video footage of the kelaynak in its regional surroundings with an epic poem composed in the voice of its official “guardians”. In doing so, The Golden Cage invites you to reflect on the connections between these caged birds and issues of migration, territory, environment, and agency.
Mediterranean/Black Sea Flyway.
A creative text inspired by The Golden Cage by Jason Pine, Professor of Media Studies and Anthropology (Purchase College, State University of New York). Professor Pine’s research focuses on people’s everyday pursuits of personal sovereignty in alternative economies and alternative ecologies.
