Between the Song and the Silence: Studies for Hobrechtsfelde Iteration -Graphic Score
A pleasant illusion is better than a harsh reality.
- Christian Nevell Bovee, Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
In 2020 I was invited to create site-specific works for the Klanlangschaften Festival related to the environment, and Hobrechtsfelde in particular. Although the area is now renowned as a beautiful outdoor recreation area, it was once one of the infamously polluting Berliner Rieselfelder, or Berlin sewage fields designed by James Hobrecht. These areas were essentially poisoned following WW2 with heavy metals and other industrial and post-war effluents. Their remediation has been difficult, such that while the area may be used for recreation, neither the livestock which graze the grasslands nor plants grown there may be used for human consumption in any form. The same may be said of the water in much of the area.
Between the Song and the Silence: Hobrechtsfelde, Germany is an examination of the birds of that area. More specifically, it highlights seventeen species of birds which one should be able to hear when walking through the area, but which are now silent due to human-caused local extinction, known as extirpation – I am presenting three of the seventeen here.
These drawings were made on bespoke St-Armand cotton paper, which was designed to evoke nests: in circular tondo format, with thin strips of paper sandwiched between the layers around the perimeter.
Each tondo represents one of the now extirpated species: on the thin strips of paper around the perimeter is written a mnemonic of their bird calls or songs. For this project I worked with local birders as well as ornithologists from various institutions.
The centre is an image which highlights something that also visually identifies the bird in its natural setting, and they are titled according to their names in English, German, and Latin.
Title: Corn Bunting / Grauammer / Emberiza calandra
The Corn Bunting is in a characteristic posture, singing, with its bright yellow mouth visible.
Title: European Turtle Dove / Turteltaube / Streptopelia turtur
In addition to their beautiful colours, European Turtle Doves are also known for their aerial acrobatics and are shown ascending.
Title: Sociable Lapwing/Steppenkiebitz/Vanellus gregarius
Sociable Lapwings have nests that are found out in the open, often on gravel, and their eggs are beautifully coloured and blend into their surroundings. If you look carefully on the upper left of the egg, it can be seen to be pipped, where a young bird is just starting to break out of the shell.
Between the Song and the Silence: Hobrechtsfelde, Germany is an examination of the birds of that area. More specifically, it highlights seventeen species of birds which one should be able to hear when walking through the area, but which are now silent due to human-caused local extinction, known as extirpation – I am presenting three of the seventeen here.
These drawings were made on bespoke St-Armand cotton paper, which was designed to evoke nests: in circular tondo format, with thin strips of paper sandwiched between the layers around the perimeter.
Each tondo represents one of the now extirpated species: on the thin strips of paper around the perimeter is written a mnemonic of their bird calls or songs. For this project I worked with local birders as well as ornithologists from various institutions.
The centre is an image which highlights something that also visually identifies the bird in its natural setting, and they are titled according to their names in English, German, and Latin.
Title: Corn Bunting / Grauammer / Emberiza calandra
The Corn Bunting is in a characteristic posture, singing, with its bright yellow mouth visible.
Title: European Turtle Dove / Turteltaube / Streptopelia turtur
In addition to their beautiful colours, European Turtle Doves are also known for their aerial acrobatics and are shown ascending.
Title: Sociable Lapwing/Steppenkiebitz/Vanellus gregarius
Sociable Lapwings have nests that are found out in the open, often on gravel, and their eggs are beautifully coloured and blend into their surroundings. If you look carefully on the upper left of the egg, it can be seen to be pipped, where a young bird is just starting to break out of the shell.
