Phoenicopterus ruber roseus (Greater flamingo) Possibly 1777 - 1786

Robert Jacob Gordon made this watercolor and pencil drawing of a Greater flamingo. As a Dutch military officer and explorer in the late 18th century, Gordon’s work reflects the intersection of scientific exploration and colonial expansion in South Africa. This image isn't just an innocent depiction of wildlife; it also reflects the complex social and racial dynamics of the time. The flamingo, rendered with scientific precision, becomes a symbol of the exotic "other," observed, classified, and ultimately possessed by European colonizers. As we contemplate this flamingo, we might reflect on the act of naming and claiming, and how these actions have historically been linked to power and control. What does it mean to observe and document another being, to reduce it to an object of study? As you look, consider the gaze of the colonizer, and the legacy of that gaze in our contemporary moment.