Swarm

Sparrows, robins and great tits have a relatively limited range, but it is not inconceivable that they will soon have to start migrating over long distances. Climate change is transforming the landscapes where they usually settle into uninhabitable, barren plains. This is what we already witness in the 360-degree projection Swarm.

The migrating birds form swarms, which provide them with some protection during a journey that demands the utmost of their strength. They keep flying resolutely, but the swarm is also a harbinger of their extinction. As a viewer, we fly with the birds—not only with familiar migratory birds, but also with garden birds, ducks, pelicans and crows.

They fly over a landscape full of oil refineries, industrial towers and buildings that seem to be made of molten plastic. Yet there is not a human to be seen. We do see planes flying by, and trucks and cars drive back and forth in long lines of traffic—as if human beings are also constantly on the move, with the end of existence as their final destination.