As long as I see birds flying I know I am alive

Ria Pacquée is a keen observer of public life. In “As long as I see birds flying I know I am alive” she collects recordings made in Paris, Kathmandu, Athens, Istanbul, Bruges, New York, Varanasi and Antwerp. By juxtaposing images of the sacred with those of a very wordly nature she undercuts the anthropological, scientific potential of her material - a disorienting strategy often used by Pacquée. Two recurring elements, clouds of drifting smoke and prowling birds, evoke a dreamlike and looming atmosphere which makes even the most common gesture appear like being part of an age-old ritual.