Program
Jens Henricson’s project, Wind Eater, centres on a device designed to attract common swifts – a Red List species – to build nests in the vicinity. By establishing a protected and Red List species in a location, unsustainable development of the area can be renegotiated. If the establishment is successful, it could trigger a chain reaction requiring specific measures for protection and management.
The presence of a Red List species makes it difficult or impossible to exploit the area without taking the species into account. This raises questions about the power of the citizens’ voice compared with the power that can be gained by instrumentalising the voice of a threatened species.
Under Swedish law, all wild birds are protected throughout the country. This protection means that it is prohibited to kill, injure or capture the protected birds, or to damage or destroy their eggs and nests. There is also EU-wide protection under the so-called Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds), which protects all wild bird species naturally occurring within the EU.
In addition, all wild birds and mammals (including bats) are protected under the Hunting Act (SFS 1987:259) and the Hunting Regulations (SFS 1987:905).
It is prohibited to take any measures that may affect or intentionally disturb protected species or their breeding grounds and resting places. Measures that may affect protected species or their habitats require an exemption from the County Administrative Board (County Administrative Board 2024).
‘Motiv’ features pencil drawings of birds in flight, as well as four swift boxes built in accordance with the project’s instructions and subsequently designed by four independent artists:
Alice Ekelund
Sophia Karlsson
Morgan Schagerberg
Fredrik Norén
