ORNITHOGRAPHIES
THE STUDY OF MOVEMENT OF BIRDS
BY XAVI BOU
ABOUT ORNITHOGRAPHIES
“If birds left tracks in the sky, what would they look like?” That was the simple question that planted the seed of this complex work that combines nature, art, and technology. Ornithographies arises from an interest in capturing unnoticed moments and questioning the limits of human perception.
This innovative project focuses on birds, revealing in a single time frame, the shapes they generate when flying, making visible the invisible. The result, presented in a unique book format, is a balance between art and science; a nature-based dissemination project and a visual poetry exercise, but, above all, an invitation to perceive the world with the same curious eyes of the children we once were.
-
Xavi Bou reveals the secret of birds' flight.
The Barcelona photographer presents the book Ornithographies, a collection of dreamlike images in which art and science come together to encourage us to reconnect with nature by showing us its most hidden side. Photographer Xavi Bou has released Ornithographies (Lynx Edicions), the result of a seven-year project of the same name through which he has portrayed the flight of birds in a unique way. These iconic images have already been showcased in multiple international exhibitions and printed in publications as varied as National Geographic, The Guardian and Granta. The ornithographies capture the tracks that would appear in the sky if birds left trails while flying. In the words of the author, "The sky is a canvas, and the birds are the brushes", which allows him to adopt the role of the curator who searches for, observes and selects each type of flight in order to make visible the particular choreography of each species.
This task has evolved over these seven years and has brought the artist closer to the scientific side of the project. To the aesthetic demand, now he also adds the interest for those peculiar flights that serve for more than moving from one point to another. For example, the frenetic rhythm of swifts over the rooftops of Barcelona, which fly with the goal of feeding; or the clouds of starlings that rise from a tree in an apparently chaotic way when fleeing from a hungry hawk; or the pirouettes of corvids, animals of recognized intelligence, which seem to take flight as a game.
The technique used can be explained simply: it involves digital film camera recordings at many frames per second, which are then superimposed in postproduction. But probably without the technical knowledge acquired by the author during the fifteen years he dedicated to advertising and fashion photography, the ornithographies would have remained a mere good idea.
-
The exhibition consists of 32 images + stands with lights for outdoor use. An area of approximately 150 square meters is required to set it up.
Each image is accompanied by a short description providing information and facts
A presskit with ready made content for social media including films & picture in correct sizes and text for pressreleses and mor is avalible.
The exhibition is available fot indoor use as well. I mix of both outdorr & indoor is possible for the venues that has those possibilities,cription -
This exhibition is available to rent. Please contact us for more information.
Per Olsson
+46 703-757787
per@uponwalls.com
Examples of how images look on our larger square stands with lighting. They are printed on aluminum composite, suitable for year-round use in all weather conditions.
The pictures are displayed in various layouts and sizes across two different configurations of our display system.
MURMURATIONS
In winter, starlings join in flocks of thousands of individuals to try to confuse the hawks that attack them, doing a mesmerizing dance. This video is part of the Ornitografias project, a project in which Xavi Bou has been working for years, which consists in visualizing the beauty of bird flight paths.
MEET
XAVI BOU