The Hotel Eden

Location: The National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, Canada).

Various birds, especially parrots, very often appear in the works of Cornell. From childhood, the artist loved to watch these energetic and frivolous creatures, easily and freely fluttering in the air. In The Hotel Eden, the parrot sits quietly on a perch, captured in strict white walls and glass, as if he had forgotten what flight and freedom are, and he spends his days at the hotel, being just an exotic addition to the interior. Attention is drawn to the thread that the bird holds in its beak, unwinding the steel spiral fixed at the top. This detail gives the work mystery, making you think about its hidden meaning.