The Bird Project

Since 2006 I have wheat-pasted hand cut images of birds in natural scale, in cities around the world.  I source ornithology books in antiquarian bookshops and libraries and search online for suitable photographs of birds. These are then scanned, edited, reprinted and cut out by hand and finally placed in a carefully selected facade, and subsequently documented by myself.

Over the years more then 5000 different images of birds have been wheat-pasted in cities on five continents: Gothenburg (2006), Berlin (2007), Tel Aviv (2008), Casablanca (2009), New York (2010), Reykjavik (2011), Madrid (2012), Malmö (2013), Rio de Janeiro (2014), Buenos Aires (2015), London (2016) Stockholm (2017), Copenhagen (2023) and Oslo (2023).

In the exhibitions I also show the result of my research on how birds have impacted human history. For example how the variation of finches on the Galapagos convinced Charles Darwin about his theory of evolution. Or that the French inventor Etienne Jules Marey created the first motion camera – in order to capture birds in flight.

The project was inspired by the American ornithologist John James Audubon (1785-1851) specifically his book Birds of America, published in 1835.

Documentation from Vasli Souza Gellery (Oslo), Thomassen Gallery (Gothenburg), Copenhagen Photo Festival, Center for Photography (Stockholm),Nordic Light Festival (Kristiansund), Ronneby Konsthall.