Originally commissioned by Walker Gallery for the 2012 Liverpool Biennial, the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art.

Belonging responds to the Biennial theme of the ‘Unexpected Guest’. Banished from city centres and branded a nuisance, pigeons became a familiar sight at the Walker Art Gallery during the Biennial, when around 205 brightly coloured birds adorned the exterior of the gallery.

Belonging elevates the very familiar site of pigeons from their everyday urban context; here they are welcome, colourful visitors. However the installation also evokes questions about ownership and feelings of being accepted or marginalised. Anthropomorphised, the pigeons can be seen to represent any group that struggles to find a natural home or sense of acceptance in a physical or geographical space.

Patrick Murphy said, “Belonging will engage audiences with its bright colour compositions, but there’s actually a deeper meaning behind the installation. The emblem of the pigeon is used to highlight the very human struggle in finding acceptance or a natural sense of place, whether this be an intellectual or a physical/geographical homeland”