The emu of Ljubljana
Ceci n’est pas un émeu.
When greeted by an emu in the city square, one naturally has many questions. [FN1] Will the rest of the menagerie be arriving soon? Is there a leash law for ratites? Does the bird mind that spectators think it's an ostrich?
However, what one wishes most to know is why. Just why?
Dromaius novaehollandiae taking the air in Ljubljana’s Prešernov Square.
Plenty of animals are displayed to draw tourists and their small change. Yet, generally, the creature can do tricks, is extraordinarily charismatic, or seems dangerous enough (and secured sufficiently) to give onlookers a bit of a thrill. None of these attractions fall in the emu’s wheelhouse.
When you’ve excluded the probable, you’re left with the fantastical. Could this be performance art? Is the man (or the bird) a neo-Dadaist? The sinuous curve of the bird’s neck recalls René Magritte’s famous Ceci n’est pas une pipe painting:
Here’s a rendering of my interpretation of the emu’s display. Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This Is Not a Pipe) is copyrighted; you’ll need to click the link to see the spooky resemblance.
Labeling an obvious representation of a pipe “not a pipe” reminds us that an image of a thing and the thing itself are entirely separate. So, too, would tourists’ photos (like mine) not be that actual bird? The Emu of Ljubljana is not an emu.
1 These questions should not include asking oneself, in a moment of visceral panic, Jesus, is that a fucking terror bird? One knows that Andalgalornis steulleti has been extinct for at least 100,000 years and that its reign of avian horror was limited to South America. And even if its modern cousin, the red-legged seriema, can be found at the nearby Vienna Zoo under recklessly light security, one should really not have thought any of these things. ↺ BACK