Ten years ago, a pigeon was seen struggling with a slice of bread. The bread, with a hole in the middle, slipped over the bird’s head as it pecked, trapping its wings so that it couldn’t fly and forcing it to take only small, awkward steps. The moment reveals the absurd ways creatures can entangle themselves in the very things they pursue, a quiet metaphor for labor, care, and survival. The image of the pigeon caught in bread has circulated online as the “pigeon necklace bread” phenomenon; birds accidentally wearing slices like collars or necklaces, often framed humorously as signs of wealth or fashion.

This image inspired a clock in which a bird serves as the hour hand, moving through time, getting stuck in the bread, and eventually breaking free,only to repeat it’s struggle in an endless cycle, as time keeps running. Perhaps the pigeon had figured out a way to carry food to its chicks without regurgitating it. Or perhaps the bread simply became lodged by chance.