The word Νεφελοκοκυγία "Nephelokokkygia" (or in German "Wolkenkuckucksheim") comes from Aristophanes' comedy "The Birds". Specifically, the play is about two fugitive Athenians, who try to persuade the birds to live together, as well as to establish a state between humans and gods in the clouds. The Wolkenkuckucksheim is considered today to be a place of utopia. Can this place also be seen as the first utopian coexistence between bird (animal) and human? In the Galerie Mitte, Kontogeorgou initiates an encounter with the pigeon, which stands here as a heterogeneous representative of birds. As a symbolic animal, it was and is elevated to the status of a sacred and protected animal in many cultures and contexts. From the dove of peace to the domesticated and often hated city pigeon, this bird inspires our fantasies, affects our history and our present.
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