This Artist Draws Famous Londoners As Pigeons

By Londonist Last edited 22 months ago
This Artist Draws Famous Londoners As Pigeons
Amy Winghouse, anyone? (Our rubbish pun, not the artist's)

What's the most Londony of animals — a jellied eel? A Crack fox? How about the good old common columbidae (that's pigeon to you and me)?

Birds in Hats illustrator Alice Tams likes to depict famous Londoners as pigeons — from nature-loving David Attenborough, to be-plumed suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.

We reckon the real David Attenborough would love this
Something in the Air: Tams' feathered take on David Bowie

"I've always had a soft spot for the much-maligned feral Pigeon," says Tams. "I had a solo exhibition coming up at We Built This City on Carnaby Street in 2019 and I couldn't think of a better bird to represent London's famous folk!

"I think pigeons are brimming with personality and London wouldn't be the same without them."

Swear we've seen this pigeon flying around Peckham...
Emmeline Pankhurst, fittingly wearing a plumed hat

And who's Tams' personal favourite?

"A very tricky one but if I had to choose it would be David Bowie. I think, initially, I imagined him as an elaborate bird of paradise or macaw but he was famously down to earth when not in Ziggy Stardust attire so painting him as a pigeon in his best threads ended up working perfectly.

"I also think there are plenty of pigeons swaggering around London that have a rockstar vibe to them."

Freddie Mer-coo-ry. Geddit?
This pigeon's has his fair share of bread...

Tams has even created a map, linking up the pigeons to the London area they're associated with:

Click to enlarge
Assume this one resides at Beakingham palace
A Vivienne Westwood pigeon in the making

You can purchase a range of pigeon merch — including socks, pin badges and prints — from Alice's website.

All images © Alice Tams

Last Updated 20 May 2022