Jes Young surrounded by her installation. Photo: Phil Anderson
Artist Jes Young invites viewers to get down on the floor to properly view her collection of ceramic pigeons and the surrounding leftovers and refuse consisting of cigarette butts, abandoned pizza slices, bottle caps and other tidbits. Young makes us aware of just how much stuff we discard on our sidewalks and urban landscapes. Though she didn’t perhaps start this exhibit with an environmental mission in mind, it still qualifies.
Jes Young, Fresh Slice, 2026, glazed and natural porcelain, 32”w x 24”d x 10”h. Courtesy of Dupont Rail Gallery
As Young states “I see what has become litter as captured moments that feel like home, when finding home has become increasingly precarious. Pigeons and trash serve as symbols of single use domestication, created in porcelain to re-examine how we determine value of our everyday encounters and surroundings.”
I found myself learning much more about pigeons through this exhibit. Each pigeon that Young created seems to have its own personality. Pigeons are fairly intelligent and have great navigation skills. They also adapt well to new environments and can remember locations — thus their use as messengers. They also mate for life. Not a native species to North America, they arrived from Europe in the 1600s.
Jes Young, Under the Bridge, 2026, glazed and natural porcelain, 30”w x 30”d x 9”h. Courtesy of Dupont Rail Gallery
Young originally worked in wood when doing her MFA, but in 2023 she participated in a residency program at PADA in Portugal and that is where a lot of this recent work started. PADA Studios is an independent, non-profit, artist-run organisation based in Barreiro, near Lisbon, on a post-industrial site. It accepts international as well as Portuguese artists. Young would make ceramic pigeons and place them near an abandoned factory where real pigeons congregated. The real pigeons largely ignored the ceramic versions of themselves. Not easily fooled. She felt kinship to these pigeons.
Jes Young, Chip Off the Block, 2025, glazed and natural porcelain, 18”w x 13”d x 13”h. Courtesy of Dupont Rail Gallery
In addition to being out of work during the pandemic, Young had been without a proper studio, so she used the fire escape in her building to work on her art while she struggled to pay her rent. The PADA residency helped her get away at least temporarily.
Jes Young, Detoured, 2025, Glazed and Natural Porcelain, 30”w x 24”d x 16”h. Courtesy of Dupont Rail Gallery
Despite the fact that pigeons have gotten a bad reputation as an urban nuisance, and an infestation in the urban landscape, it was interesting watching visitors at her exhibit choose an individual ceramic pigeon to give a home to. There’s a lineup of pigeons you can purchase besides the groupings in the installations. Some ceramic garbage also goes with the pigeon. The installations or groupings of pigeons and garbage are cleverly arranged on the floor of the gallery and visitors can roam from one installation to another in a migratory fashion and get up close to the art.
Individual pigeons for purchase, each porcelain, glazes & engobes. Photo: Phil Anderson
Young’s next project is creating ceramic life-size geese with a nest thanks to funding from the Ontario Arts Council. She is looking forward to working in larger size with this new project. If you don’t get a chance to see this exhibition at Dupont Rail Gallery at 1444 Dupont, check out Young’s website and watch for her next exhibition. You will find it worthwhile.
Phil Anderson
*Exhibition information: Jes Young Single Served, March 25 – April 5, 2026, Dupont Rail Gallery, presented by Collective City Project, 1444 Dupont #10, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun 12 – 5 pm. Artist Talk and Craft Session: Saturday, April 4, 12 – 2 pm.