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A High Flying Artist

Moving Image

Posted by Mark Sinclair, 29 May 2008, 11:42    Permalink    Comments (4)

Nest close up

For seven days, a giant nest 50 metres up one side of the Weena Tower in Rotterdam has been home for Belgian artist Benjamin Verdonck. He's recently descended from his lofty abode but as these images reveal, it would have been no mean task getting his nest up there in the first place. And if you're going to spend a week sitting on a collection of twigs, obviously you'd make sure you had a nice grey suit to wear...

High up nest

Verdonck apparently built his nest over six weeks using, he says, "the crowns of 23 silver birches, one birch, one willow, two straw bales, one bucket of spit, three bags of sand, 12 buckets of glue and 19 canso polyurethane foam." That's a lot of spit by anyones standards.

After making a "risk analysis" and guaranteeing "access for the emergency services" Verdonck attached his new home to the tower and remained there for seven days, occasionally flinging feathers down onto the street. We're not sure if his droppings went the same way...

headdress

Clock with tower

Here's a film of the birdman's escapades:

More at nest-rotterdam.nl.

4 Comments

This guy was in Birmingham in 2005 as part of Fierce festival - some good clips in the Fierce TV archives, of lots of brummies marveling as the unlikely nest takes shape on the iconic Rotunda! Check them out http://www.myfiercefestival.co.uk/ and click on Fierce TV and scroll down to Great Swallow...
Mark Murph
2008-05-29 18:36:06


I read:
"... home for Dutch artist Benjamin Verdonck ..."

should be;
"... home for Belgian artist Benjamin Verdonck ..."

(altough dutch speaking)
Jan Fack
2008-06-02 12:34:08


Thanks Jan, have changed above.
Mark
creativereview
2008-06-02 12:38:59


Yet again creative review chooses to ignore the midlands.
Nameless
2008-06-08 23:44:03


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