Author: Carsten Höller
9 Photo-engravings.
Animals are the unquestionable centrepiece of Höller. He grew up with insects and plants that give off a characteristic aroma that the artist wishes to recreate. His scientific background allows him to conceive birds as living creatures capable of cohabiting the same world as humans.
The Bird series is the outcome of a selective project into fowl in which the artist tried to produce new “customised” varieties. Thanks to his scientific experience and his passion for ornithology, he managed to control the breeding process. The birds reproduced with relative rapidity, though owing to the genetic combinations, the samples obtained were all sterile. They are at the same tome the first and last of their breed. These photographic engravings are a heart wrenching dossier containing his creations whilst at the same time reminding us of the traditional art of ornithological illustration.