Body of Work is a visualization of the vast amount of research into six migratory bird species within the Waakvogels research project, and the extensive knowledge that has emerged from it. Since 2025, I have been artist in residence at Waakvogels/BirdEyes, a five-year study into the ecology of the Wadden Sea area through the eyes of six migratory bird species. Waakvogels is led by Theunis Piersma, who has been conducting migratory bird research for fifty years and has more than 900 publications to his name. The unstoppable curiosity of Piersma and his team, as well as the elusiveness of these migratory bird species, are both captured together in this work.
Body of Work consists of six sheets of handmade paper (50 x 70 cm) incorporating bird feathers. For the paper pulp, one of the source materials for papermaking, recycled paper from the NIOZ (Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) was used. For each species, this is combined with publications investigating that bird species and feathers from that specific species, collected during fieldwork at Artis, as well as at NIOZ.
