Thailand is famous for its notoriety. More recently, it has sought another identity: The Trash Dove. It has flown straight into internet fame. The purple, head-banging bird has taken over Facebook after going viral in Thailand, flinging plenty of hilarious remixes and memes. The garbage bird was created by illustrator and animator Syd Weiler back in the summer of 2016, though she didn’t expect for the dove to gain such notoriety. Exactly what is wrong with Social Media?
Trash Dove is a spectacular animal. Last year when Weiler was traveling and sitting at a pond in Minneapolis, she saw a bunch of pigeons pecking around and an older man feeding the flock. That’s the moment that inspired the illustrator.
They’re really funny birds; a little rainbow-y and shiny when the sun hits them. They’re almost pretty, but then they beg for crumbs. They’re like doves, but they eat trash. Doves are classier pigeons.
Then in September, Weiler streamed drawing Trash Dove using Adobe Photoshop and a tablet on her Twitch channel, where she regularly livestreams herself creating her artwork.
After that, she put it on the iOS store as an iPhone sticker pack, added it to Facebook, and licensed the bird. It wasn’t until last week that Trash Dove went viral. Weiler woke up on Thursday and realized that her work had taken off in Thailand, with people sending her articles and videos all in Thai. Maybe, Trash Dove is metal fan. Why so much of hate?
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Sometimes you have to have two simultaneous convos on separate social media platforms to dissect new developements in memeology #trashdove
The cultural crossover is totally unanticipated, but it’s bringing a lot of joy. I’m all about the positive. I created these to make people smile, so whenever I see people sharing Trash Dove I get really excited. I’m glad people can appropriate that.
To thank Thailand for the fanfare over her creation, Weiler posted a version of the bird with the Thai flag in one of its talons. When a commenter suggested that some people might be offended by the country icon being held in such a lowly manner due to cultural differences, Weiler swiftly whipped up another version with the flag in the purple animal’s beak.
Why is #trashdove is the recent Tendency?
Over the past couple of days, Trash Dove has gotten its time in the global spotlight. Available on Facebook as a sticker, there’s one bird for practically very emotion and situation. It’s also particularly fond of the typical pigeon diet, including bread and junk food. Trash Dove has even started to consume Facebook comment threads.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
and trash dove is purple thank you— Qamar (@Mohamed_Qamar) February 12, 2017