What makes the birds – whose history dates back at least 150 million years –so unique and successful, is one of nature’s most ingenious inventions: the feather.

Since time immemorial, bird feathers have exuded an almost magical fascination, likely borne by our human yearning to be able to soar from the earth.

The aesthetic of the feather, its lightness and the underlying natural “technology”, which helps the bird to fly while protecting and decorating its body at the same time, explains our desire for it.

The feather thus becomes a symbol of lightness and limitlessness – in an abstract sense – between the earthly and the heavenly world.

(Source: Federn kitzeln die Sinne (Feathers tickle the senses), Überseemuseum 2004)

Photos: Christoph Sagel, Anne Deppe.