Battle Birds

Contemporary perceptions of the figure of the fighting-cock are shaped by a human-built avian architectural history saturated with masculine gender identities and perceived as conflicting with prevailing social norms. The fighting-cock appears in literature and art as a symbol of masculine valour, a surrogate human, or an avatar enacting a form of animality deemed socially unacceptable. This perception differs markedly from other social human–animal interactions and constructions, which accept – or consciously ignore – other gendered uses of animals. Hens, for instance, are an accepted part of our landscape and rendered largely passive, their bodies consumed, literally and visually. And yet the fighting-cock is a human construct, shaped by the manipulation of a territorial instinct, raised in isolation and conditioned to fight. His body is placed within a purpose-built architectural space of action – the cockpit – connecting prosthetic violence to architectural spectacle. This project argues that the fighting-cock’s material and mythological presence calls for a re-imagining. Through a critique prompted by an invitation to design and share an object, the figure of the fighting-cock becomes a site through which to challenge gendered animal architectures and imagine more-than-human futures. Read the full article online at: https://drawingon.org/Issue-04-04-Battle-Birds