(RE)SEARCHING
FOR
THE EUROPEAN ROLLER
___
JONAS BÖTTERNMaster of Fine Arts, Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. 2016 Tutor: Jacob Kimvall. Oponent: Håkan Nilsson.
This essay is influenced by long conversations with a number of people. Conversations that helped and inspired me in my research
and I feel really grateful to have such qualified guidance:
My dear collaborator and partner, artist: Emily Mennerdahl Birdwatcher: Thomas Lindblad
Friend and biologist: Magnus Granbom My main tutor, artist: Emily Roysdon
Ornithologist: Edith Wilson
Director of The National Archives: Jan Dahlström Director of The Museum of Evolution: Mats Eriksson
I
“Birds are truly fascinating creatures. They are part of the Aves class and that makes them one of the oldest living beings on earth. They descend from the age of dinosaurs 150 million years ago.”
/Jonas Bötterni
Introduction
In 2010, Emily Mennerdahl and I formed a research/production group called Hillside Projects. The fundamental ideas were created 3000 meters above sea level, during an excursion through a high altitude Rhododendron forest in Northern India. Examining how insects, such as beetles and termites, help to break down and recycle the nutrients that maintain the health of the Rhododendron. Whilst admiring how the smallest of creatures performed the greatest of tasks, we gave account for various microscopic actions taking place on the bark and inside the trunk. Using a middle format camera we later got the chance to see these important actions on a large scale. Alongside professional trekkers we stood out, instead of rushing for the peaks we were crawling underneath the trees looking for pollen. When studying these magnificent trees in the full blossom of April we
simultaneously formulated the basis for what later would become the Hillside Projects. Hillside Projects research predominantly focuses on aspects of history, culture and the
conflicting relationship we have with the natural world. Interdisciplinary in nature, our group playfully explores cultural, social and political narratives whilst taking part in a continuing discourse on nature. Hillsides main aim is to dismantle and reconsider facts as we know them, or as we believe we are expected to know them. Through lecture performances, installations and video our group experiments with ways of telling stories and the re-‐telling of stories. Lines between fact and fiction, knowledge and assumption become blurred as different voices and roles are explored. This essay will focus on the research of our work. Although I find it hard to see where the research stops and art piece begins. These two components are closely linked together and I see everything within the working process as part of my art. The essay brings to surface questions that are fundamental for my work. It also includes a project that has functioned as a kind of case study in my research. My essay has no real conclusion, as I have yet to gather one.
In 2011-‐2013 Hillside Projects performed an inventory research in a nature reserve in
Southern Sweden. In a coastal pine forest, with in some cases several hundred-‐year-‐old pines, we found a wide range of flora and fauna that features geological interests and has been maintained in its original form for hundreds of years. The whole ground is covered with moss and lichen and it inhabits an unusually rich biodiversity. This unusual forest has provided us with studying subjects for several occasions. In this area, Hillside Projects have made both visual and audio recordings. On 272 hectares we have found interesting sand plants and other coastal flora. On the moors we have located a number of other unusual species.
Excerpt from Annual Field Inventory Report on March 18 2013:
There are gaps in the forest with small and often gnarly pines. Window lichen such as Cladonia stellaris and Cetraria nivalis do occur. Leafy tree curtains of Ash, Alder and Willow make room for sand sedge and patches of grey hair grass, wavy hair grass. In the sand patches, there are Euroleon nostras, antlion and small Myrmeleon formicarius antilon. Amongst the nesting birds there are Eurasian Hobby, tawny owl and Black woodpecker, Wood pigeons as well as stonechats. The Tawny pipit and the Common kestrel are still there. Interrupted Clubmoss, wolf's-foot clubmoss, brown bentgrass, Green-Flowered Wintergreen and Dutchman's pipe, yellow bird's-nest or pinesap. Sand sedge, Bent Grass and lyme grass occur
sparsely. Sheep sorrel, fescue grass, field garlic, mullein and occasional dog-rose and common cow-wheat, Arctic
starflower. Aspens, wryneck, lesser spotted woodpecker as well as marsh tit, European green woodpecker, great
spotted woodpecker, European pied flycatcher, European crested tit, Coal tit and even the Great tit. Other birds like the Tree pipit, Black bird, Warbler, Spotted
II
“In the middle of our life’s path I found myself in a dark forest, where the straight way was lost.”
/Dante Alighieriii
Research
Currently, more than half of Sweden is covered with forests. The most common trees are fur, pine and beech.iii Trees surround our cities and seen from above it could appear as if we still reside inside the forest. When studying a map of Sweden, larger parts are forests with squeezed-‐in cities.
The most likely origin of the word forest is the Latin foris meaning “outside” or forestare meaning “to keep out, to exclude of”iv. In Robert Pogue Harrisons book Forests; The Shadows of Civiliazation he brings our correlation with the forest to a deep psychological level. As an
author and professor of literature, he explores the role the forest has played in cultural imagination of the West. Harrison claims that the human psyche has a hard time coping with the forest since it covers the horizon and therefore confuses the human orientation. This makes me think of incidents when I have gone astray in forests and as a consequence both felt claustrophobic and nauseous. How my experience of the wood has suddenly changed, from being a warm friendly place it turns into a dark and frightening maze. Could this partly be why humanity, throughout history, has felt such hostility towards the forest? Because we simply cannot find our way and easily get lost, enclosed by trees.
Northern woodlands have since the middle ages been the dwellings of mischief, both real and mythical. The forests were the home of thieves and outcasts, of trolls and demons. They were unholy places where humans performed, at the time considered, unholy rites such as
paganism and adultery. The forests were rebellious and the perfect platform for like-‐minded humans. Gradually the conception of the forest changed. Most radically this happened during the Romanticism in the 19th century. Suddenly, the forests became part of a new wilderness ideal. Dark forests became attracted for its perils and dangers. Men and woman (but mostly men) went to the forests to conquer fear and to be submerged into a subliminal darkness.
Maybe this form of nature romanticism derived from industrialism, as a consequence of the ever growing polluted cities? Even today we live in an era where wilderness is highly valued, but perhaps more rare than ever. Urbanization seems far from at its peak and even if peoples minds dream of excitements and wild nature, most of us seem more comfortable on a sun lounger on a tourist friendly beach.
III
Since to follow a trail is to remember how it goes, making one’s way in the present is itself a recollection of the past . . . onward movement is itself a return”
/Tim Ingold and Jo Lee Vergunstv
The National Archives of Sweden
One day when I was wandering in the nature reserve, where Hillside Projects have spent many hours, I realised something. Walking on the moss amongst those old trees, the forest looked very organised. Looking closer, I could see rows of trees, almost like long alleys of pine. When and why were all of these trees planted? What happened here?
If one wants to know more about a specific place it is usually fruitful to look at its history. Together with my colleague, I went to The National Archives (Riksarkivet) in Täby outside of Stockholm to extend my research. The National Archives dates back to the Middle Ages and is today the largest archive in Sweden; containing 100 km of shelves. In the National Archives one can find information of all Governmental public records as well as records from private corporations and individuals.
When Hillside Projects visited the National archives we had the privilege of getting a guided tour by the director himself, Mr. Jan Dahlström. Dahlström appeared sharp; dressed in a flawless blue suit he came across as very serious. At a first glance, he was intimidating.
However, this character turned out to be the most generous person and really took his time in aiding us in our research. We managed to gather valuable information including an old map from the nature reserve made in 1710, just ten years after many of the old trees were planted. The map was fascinating. Over the years it has been extended and added to, so the shape of it is very organic. Painted from an angle, each tree trunk was visible and the map even showed the windows of houses. When further deepening the research, we also came across some additional unexpected information. As it turns out, the forest was planted in the 1700s to serve as a home for the Grey wolf. There was a rich and eccentric landowner by the name of Sven-‐Erik Hultman, whom apparently had had an epiphany where angels came down from the sky and God spoke directly to him. He was very influential regarding decision-‐makings in that area. As any nobleman in those days, apart from drinking and abusing his power,
Hultman liked hunting. He had been on several hunting trips to Germany and Eastern Europe, where he hunted bears, boors and other large mammals. Hultman later got an idea to import Bavarian wolves to Sweden. He rearranged the whole forest and brought in that “symbol of the wild”. It may seem as an odd thing today but it needs to be put into a historical
perspective. This happened in the 19th century and at that time the wolf was very appealing, at least from the hunters perspective. The hunters wanted the wolf.
Today, in Sweden there is a great conflict regarding the managing of wolves. Just a decade ago the wolf was nearly extinct, but since then the wolf strain has grown considerably. There is a great deal of people, mostly environmentalists and animal rights supporters that argue for the well-‐being of the wolf. On the other hand there are lots of people arguing that we should get rid of the wolf. They claim that wolves are a threat, especially in the countryside where sheep farmers definitely don’t want wolves. The farmers do not want to build expensive fences trying to keep out wolves. They say we are better off getting rid of that menace. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) is actively trying to argue for the wolves’ protection. Arguing that we should let wolves wonder freely from Finland to avoid inbreeds.vi It is a sensitive political issue that has in some ways turned the countryside and city against one another.
IV
“The world as such writes similitude upon itself, like a natural form of justice. How, then, can anyone claim superiority?”
/Michel Serresvii
Preservation
Swedish identity is deeply rooted in the forest. Swedish journalist Maciej Zaremba elaborates on this in his series of articles Skogen vi ärvde. Zaremba talks about how Swedes see
themselves as “connected to nature”. In modern secularized Sweden many people look for spirituality in nature and we have a long history of literature and folksongs that stay close to the woods. Even Swedish last names are influenced by trees; Björk(Birch), Lind(Linden), Ek(Oak) etc. When looking back in history Zaremba states that there is another story to be told. Sweden used to be a land of meadows and wetlands. Just forty years ago an areal of two million hectare open land was replaced with coniferous spreads. Before that the forests were multi cultural. One could find plenty of deciduous forests that carried oak, ash, beech and alder. Today 92% of the forests have been clear cuttings. To me this information clearly indicates that our romantic opinions about trees fall short for the idea that trees should be valued for economical purposes.
Nature reserves are environments that are protected by the law. In Sweden, nature reserves have existed since 1964 when the Nature Conservation Act was founded. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agencyviii (Naturvårdsverket) the nature reserves function to:
• Preserve biological diversity
• Protect valuable natural environments • Supply outdoor life
• Protect or recreate valuable natural environments • Protect or recreate habitats for protected species
When forming a nature reserve, the County Administrative Board (Länstyrelsen) and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency research the land in question. If they come to an agreement an independent adviser is hired to either approve or reject. When considering preservation the arguments often speak of the various utilities the specific land or species have and how we can benefit from them. The medical qualities of a rare tree are a better argument for preservation than the value of the tree itself.
There appears to be a common view that trees, animals and all other species are underneath us in a chain of hierarchy. With an underlying conception that; we need to control our surroundings, even when for the greater good. Nature reserves are created to protect land from the industry and from other strains on the environment. When selecting what land and species to protect there appear to be a hierarchy in how we assemble species and organize the world. As if we manage to catalogue the whole planet we will be safe, and the chaos that seems to be “nature” will finally reveal itself in chronological order.
V
“'Our' relations with nature might be imagined as a social engagement with a being who is neither 'it', 'you', 'thou', 'he', 'she" nor 'they' in relation to 'us'.”
/Donna Harawayix
Discovery
When we came back to the nature reserve in February 2012 the whole area had changed. Our mapping of the landscape had turned into a historical document, as something that had seized to exist. About 70% of the tree areal was shaved, gathered up in piles and ready to be taken away. This had all happened recently and the tracks from the big machines were still so fresh that we could smell the moist of mud underneath the lichen. The idea that change can be swift and that nothing is forever was materialized under our feet and in front of our eyes. As we tried to orient ourselves in this new landscape, questions of when, how and why started to arise. The County Administrative board sent us a pdf (report) in order to answer some of our questions. The front cover showed a group of young smiling biologists jumping of a sand dune together with a catchy title; Sand Life.
Image taken from Sand Life website.
When browsing through the folder we found out that one of the main reasons for rearranging the forest is to reintroduce a bird called The European Roller. That was the first time we ever laid eyes on this otherworldly beautiful bird.
The European Rollers plumage is covered with vividly bright cyan blue feathers. Its back is orange-‐brown and underneath the wings there is a strike of purple. This highly saturated parti-‐coloured bird is so hard to imagine in this northern territory. It is a rather big bird. Measuring from 29–32 cm in length and with a wingspan of 52–58 cm, it is approximately the size of a Jackdaw. The birds habitat preferences are warm and dry places, usually in an open country. The Rollers nest in old scattered trees, or they nest in the crack of a cliff. The
European Roller has not been nesting in Sweden since 1967x and before that there was a long gap of Rollers living in the North.
There are two subspecies of the European Roller, one that lives in Northern Africa, from Morocco to Tunisia and then eastwards all the way to Siberia. The other subspecies breed in Iraq, Iran, through Kashmir all the way to South-‐western China. The European Rollers
migrate and they winter in Africa, mainly in the east and south.xi I try to imagine this creature flying from China, passing the Himalayas, the highest peaks in the world, all the way to South Africa. In my research I have come across a recorded incident with a Roller colliding with an aircraft in the middle of the Arabian Sea.
There has been a long-‐term decline of Rollers as a nesting bird in the central and northern parts of Europe, with a complete extinction of the birds nesting in both Sweden and Germany. The reason why the European Roller left Europe is uncertain, but it could be because of environmental aspects such as; temperature, light, the greenhouse effect or food resources.
Sand Life wants to bring the European Roller back to Sweden. So how do we get birds back to a place where they previously have resided but no longer reside? When reintroducing species you usually move captive-‐born animals into, what is considered, their natural environment. Alternatively you move species from one place to another, but not using captive-‐born species. In the case of the European roller, Sand life wants to recreate the original habitat for the bird.
To do this, they have researched the area thoroughly. It is important to make a detailed inventory and try to account for all the variety of species that will be affected. Making a project like this is a costly affair. Scanning the area, make an inventory of species, trying to see as many aspects as possible. Also behavioural researchers need to calculate the
reproduction possibilities for the bird. Valuing each parameter to see if it is a profitable project.xii When a project is approved it is time for the physical operation. It is one thing sitting behind a desk designing a landscape than actually being out there, executing trees. Often the forester is a local that knows the place well and I wonder what emotions go through his mind. As he is the foot soldier on the ground carrying out the orders of his superior.
There are several ways to lure and communicate with birds. In 1989 there was an example in the South of Sweden when a bunch of stork enthusiasts wanted to reintroduce the stork. They went to Africa and drove back storks to Sweden. Unfortunately these storks turned out not to be of an emigrational kind and when winter came they all died. However, since migration is behavioural, something that birds learn for generations they found a solution; they went to Poland instead and brought back a stork that is proved to be emigrational. It was a success, the enthusiasts were happy. They found a way.
14 May 2011 11 February 2012
VI
“We see the world as being outside ourselves even though it is only a mental representation of what we experience on the inside.”
/René Magrittexiii
Case study
Many thinkers of today agree on the idea that nature does not exist. Artist Mark Dion argues that it is just our ideas about nature that exist, that we project our own expectations on an ever-‐indifferent nature.xiv Philosopher Slavoy Zizek claims that nature does not exist, as we know it. The image of nature as a balanced harmonic circulation is false. Rather, nature is chaos and catastrophic, and so we should accept our alienation from nature.xv The Merriam Webster definition of natural is; When existing in nature, and not made or caused by people: coming from nature.xvi Today there is not a single part of earth that is not affected by mans hand, which then also supports the idea of natures’ non-‐existence. This image of nature, moreover, indicates that there once was a natural condition. There was a fundamental state of existence before change set in. A reasoning that almost carries religious undertones. Is this an implication that the change from some natural condition is bad and that the natural condition is good? Then furthermore, if we are made of nature, we should also be natural and then everything we do and create is natural, good or bad, and then everything is nature.
The Stork Project that was carried out in 1989 is still running and if you look at their website they seem very pleased with their work. From the start they had 30 storks (the ones that died), now they have about 300 storks and they are all alive. They even have what they call wild storks; birds that live outside fences. These birds are all bird ringed and they keep them under observation, but apart from that they are free.
The Stork Project has what they call GPS-‐Storks. The GPS Storks are the strongest storks, says Emma Ådahl, project leader for the Stork Project since 2011. When choosing which storks to give a GPS they make sure to choose the most vital ones. “Usually a cocky brawler has a bigger chance surviving the dangerous travels”, Emma states. xviiThe storks that are not
The reason why the storks left Sweden in the first place can be because of the disappearance of wetlands. The Stork Project does not say much about their reasons for reintroducing storks other than that it is their responsibility. “Since it is humans that took away their habitat we are responsible to get them back”, says a smiling Emma.xviii Nonetheless, with that argument you would think that they would focus on restoring wetlands before attempting to secure the return of the stork. As it happens the stork is also the symbol of the region in Sweden where the project is based. Which is something that they proudly state on their website:
Genom Storkprojektet hoppas vi kunna få tillbaks vår skånska symbol! Målet
är att återfå en livskraftig, flyttande stam av vit stork i Skåne.
Through the Stork Project we hope to get back the symbol of Skåne! The goal
is to retrieve a vital, emigrational breed of the white stork in Skåne
.(Authors own translation)
VII
“JAG HATAR DET LAND SOM VAR ERT OCH DET LAND SOM BLEV VÅRT DET LAND SOM ALDRIG BLIR ERT OCH DET LAND SOM ALDRIG BLIR VÅRT”
“I HATE THE COUNTRY THAT WAS YOURS AND THE COUNTRY THAT BECAME OURS
THE COUNTRY THAT NEVER BECOMES YOURS AND THE COUNTRY THAT NEVER BECOMES OURS” (Authors own translation)
/
Yayha Hassanxix
To the extremes
When surroundings are designed according to ideas about geographical and cultural identity, the motive often resembles nationalism. Either if it is a patriotic idea about a specific bird as a symbol for a region or if it is a romantic impression about what a specific land should look like and what kind of species it should contain, nationalistic ideals are not far away.
This region in the South of Sweden where Sand Life (and the Stork Project) is located has a diverse history of both provincialism and nationalism. The region is called Skåne and used to belong to Denmark. Even if it has been Swedish since the middle of the 1600s, there is still a wide spread idea about self-‐determination in the region. There are several provincial right-‐ wing separatist parties here, such as Skånepartiet (The Scania Party), Framstegspartiet (The Progress Party), Ny Demokrati and Skånes väl. The nationalistic Sweden Democrats (SD) is today (2016) the third biggest party in Sweden, and has since it was founded (1989) had a solid support in the region. In 1991 SD got mandate in two municipals, whereas one was in Skåne. xx In 1997 the Security Police (Säpo) states that there are more Nazis in Skåne and Blekinge (Skånes neighbur region) than in the rest of Sweden altogether.xxi
In Anna-‐Lena Lodenius article Slutna Landskap – Om rasismen i Skåne (Tied Landscape –
Regarding Rascism in Scania) she asks the question why Skåne has such a large flora of
xenofobic partys and of course she comes up with different answers. One reason can be the closeness to Denmark, where xenophobia is also widespread. Another being Provincialism, on the map of Skania one can see 33 municipalities in a very small area. Nazism has had a
In Skåne there are more ethnically mixed cities and situations than in many other places across the country. Malmö (the capital of Skåne) has the most ethnically diverse population in Sweden, where 31% of the population has foreign background. xxiiiSo in a way you would think that people in Skåne are more used to foreigners than the rest of Sweden. Which brings me to the contemporary situation where immigrants are coming to all over Sweden and suddenly the whole of Sweden becomes very xenophobic. In 2016 Skåne does not stick out as being more xenophobic than the rest of the country. Then again, Skåne is historically a farming culture and people can be both protective and suspicious. This is of course not scientifically proven but often farmers are proud protectors of their territory. By Swedish standards Skåne is also densely populated, it covers no more than 3% of Sweden but contains 13% of the population.xxiv
Why is all of this important when talking about the reintroduction of species? I am not sure, but if cultural values are part of the motive when reintroducing species, then it can be of importance to see what these values are.
VIII
“We remain only on the surface as long as we treat only memories and ideas. The only valuable things in psychic life are, rather, the emotions.”
/Sigmund Freudxxv
Emotional Bird Skeleton
In 2010, William Saunaire wrote an article in Nature Magazine called On Emotional Bird
Skeleton with Lloyd Hausman. This article is based on a creative paper that bird enthusiast
Lloyd Hausmans wrote in 2009 on emigrational aspects connected to bird anatomy. Hausman loosely begins to unravel the many mysteries of emotions manifested in the European Rollers bone structure and their choice of migration routes. Applying Hausmans research, Hillside Projects are currently working with these ideas and forming new research on the emotions of the European Roller. In the following chapter I try to narrate the blending of the research of Hausman and Hilside Projects. The succeeding drawings are that of Hillside Projects.
Hausman has been studying the European Roller for years, tracking their movements all across the globe. He is using a method, where he attaches a sensor on the birds back, this sensor measures hours of daylight and that way he can pinpoint the birds’ exact position and choice of migration routes. In the case of the European Roller there has been an accelerating increase of the birds travelling to places with lots of light. Hausman now connects the puzzle through his study on the European Rollers brain and concludes that the bird suffers from
Empalis Membrata Pur, a kind of bipolar condition for birds. Could it be that this bipolar bird
has a hard time staying in the northern hemisphere due to its ambivalent mood swings? By studying the development of the bird eggs, from an early stage to fully developed. Hausman found an interesting connection between the placement of eggs in the nest and emotions inside the skeleton.
Examples 1 shows a healthy nest preferably located 3 metres above ground in an empty oak,
aspen or beech.
Example 2 shows an unfavourable nest situation, in a dark swamp area. Worst-‐case scenario
birds living in these social conditions have shown a total unwillingness and therefore leading to a severe depression.
Example A shows a body that has been exposed to lots of light. Example B shows a Roller
that has been exposed of minimal set of light and there’s a difference in the structure of the vertebrae.
By studying the bone structure and the changes it has on the birds behaviour Hausman has in a ground breaking way shed light upon this extremely intelligent but emotional creature. Hausman managed to read the bird’s mental condition through looking at its bone structure. Small physical changes can reveal complex emotional feelings such as joy or even remorse.
By studying the European Rollers behaviour Hausman concludes that the Rollers are really capable of expressing deep feelings. For example he has been studying how they react towards the experience of death and concluded that the rollers mourn. You can see rollers gather around a fellow dead roller, and they walk in circles and they chatter in intervals.
Also they are so intelligent that they can solve problems through thinking in several steps, using one object as a tool to affect another object and that’s extremely unusual when it comes to birds.
IX
“It is when the object is decontextualized from its natural setting that it opens itself to multiple significations, as it can form new connections from which alternative meanings develop.”
/Giovanni Aloixxvi
The Dusty Bird Catalogue
After the discovery of Sand Life and their brave mission to reintroduce the European Roller to Sweden, we decided to deepen our research on the European Roller. The European Roller was last observed nesting in 1967 on Fårö, an island northeast of Gotland.xxvii Since then, the European Roller is only a rare guest in our country and has only been spotted sporadically a few times over the last 50 years.
Intrigued by the disappearance of this magnificent bird, Hillside Projects decided to extend the search and started to inquire how many European Rollers that actually exist in Sweden today. Since they do not nest in Sweden anymore, all the Rollers here are dead and we had to look for taxidermies in various Zoological archives. We visited altogether six different Zoological archives:
• The Paleontological Museum of Uppsala University • Malmö Museum
• Ånge Zoological Museum
• Natural History Museum in Stockholm • Natural History Museum in Gothenburg • Vännersborgs Museum
Most often the European Rollers we found were umounted skins, without head and legs. The birds also wandered amongst the many boxes and drawers and were tricky to be found. Even for the archivists. In one of the archives we found a total of sixteen specimens, located in five different places, where only one of them was on display in their public exhibition. In Lund the whole Zoological Museum was packed away in boxes. Which is odd since the Zoological Museum in Lund has one of the oldest and largest collections in the country, containing more than ten million specimens (although a lot of insects and invertebrates).
We also found numerous private bird collectors. However the taxidermy business is full of frauds and after having made contact with a few resellers of dead animals we decided not to include them in our research.
Image taken from a dead animals salesman website
Hillside Projects intention has been to create a catalogue of all the European Rollers in Sweden. When visiting the archives we applied a system of collecting dust and feather residue, from the nape and wings of the birds, in order to obtain specific information. The findings provide a specified representation of the bird, both physiologically and mentally. In 2013-‐2014, the enquiry into the European Roller took place and the catalogue contains a complete account of the European Roller found in zoological institutions across Sweden. The Catalogue covers 142 European Rollers specimens from six different institutions. The Dusty
Bird Catalogue is presented with a slide projector and has taken part in a series of
X
“Everywhere animals disappear. In zoos they constitute the living monument of their own disappearance. And in doing so, they provoked their last metaphor.”
/John Bergerxxviii
Absence bird, absent answers
The first place where we encountered the European Roller was at the Paleontological Museum in Uppsala. In the archives, we opened a cabinet containing no less than seven magnificent European Roller specimens. Later, we also found four more un-‐mounted birds, stashed away in a box in a back storage room. We documented these specimens, through meticulously dusting off their nape and back feathers. Whilst doing this, I noticed that some of them still kept their shine, in some cases a hundred years after their actual passing. Incredible.
The main room of the archive was full of animals, from top to bottom. There seemed to be no particular order, misplaced animals were jumbled together whilst waiting to be classified and finally housed together with their families in well ordered cabinets. It seemed as if some of them had been waiting for a very long time and that they would be waiting for some time to come. We spent days in that archive; documenting, measuring and cataloguing. Amongst the mess we spotted a deformed lion. Apparently it was one of Linnés disciples that was meant to take care of it. But the lion ended up living in a small cage, not much bigger than its own size, and just after one winter it got sick. The botanists tried to save it but it died on
Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night) 1803.
Image taken from Uppsala University website
Why is there a need to get the European Roller back to Sweden?
For a long time I have been trying to find answers to this question. Investigating several intuitions reports on the matter and I am still looking for answers. There is not a lot to be found on the subject and what has been written about it does not answer this particular question. I do not claim that Sand Life is driven by provincial values, rather that any specific motive is absent. I have not found any certain reasons such as the European Roller
contributing to a specific place, an ecological system or a biotope. Could it simply be the pleasure of having such an exotic, colourful bird in Sweden?
Even if The Stork Project is influenced by ideas regarding the storks’ cultural value, it certainly doesn’t mean that Sand Life’s quest to bring back the European Roller is built on similar ideas. Although they surly value the bird highly, putting all that effort into bringing it back. Can it be like when one wakes up from a wonderful dream and all one wants to do is to bring it back? I am puzzled: can the decision to rearrange a whole nature reserve have been made by sentimental biologist for nostalgic reasons? The idea is tempting but perhaps unlikely?
To conclude without conclusion
Seeing the re-‐introduction of specific birds, or the re-‐building of a specific landscape, that no longer exists, creates an ambiguous feeling in me. It blurs the boundaries between the
artificial and the natural. As if in reality, earth is just a museum of nature, forests are archives of trees and birds such as the European roller are not so different from the taxidermies I come across in a museum.
In this essay I have chosen to give account for my research process and therefore brought to surface ideas and thoughts on the subject matter, rather than going into one specific aspect or questioning. By doing so I hope for the reader to get an overall picture of things that lay
HOMAGE (FOR DISAPPEARNANCE)
You are unmistakable
Your head turns with jerky movements
Shifty eyes reveal a doubtful mood
Your deepest desires remain unknown
Last observed many years ago
You where spotted on a hilltop
Soon to forsake this barren land
Striving for a warmer sense of self
You fly across economical boundaries and country borders
The reason for your disappearance is uncertain
Is it the operation of biocyde biotopic changes
Or is cultural boredom the reason you left intolerant Europe?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Böttern, Jonas, Searching for the European Roller, manuscript (2014) Unpublished Alighieri, Dante, The Divine Comedy. (1320) (s81 Forest) Pt. 1 Inferno – Canto 1 – (1-‐3)
Harrison, Robert Pogue, Forests – The shadow of Civilization (1992) The University of Chicago Press Tim Ingold and Jo Lee Vergunst, Ways of Walking: Ethnography and Practice on Foot (2008) Ashgate Publishing Limited p.17
Serres, Michel, The Natural Contract (1995) The University of Michigan Press
Haraway, Donna, Simians, Cyborgs and Woman – The Reinvention of Nature (1991) Routledge Taylor & Francis Group p.3
Baudelaire, Charles, The flowers of evil (1900) Elkin Matthews p.63 Zaremba, Maciej, Skogen vi ärvde (2012) Svante Weyler Bokförlag AB
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