Book LV, Call from a local artist
Title: Open Call from the Artist
Submission Biennale Gherdëina, IT
Martin Brandsma,Jan van der Til act as mediators between humans and the landscape, speaking on behalf of a voice that fell silent in the Dolomites
in 2015: the call of the great grey shrike. From here on, we refer to it as Lanius excubitor—the local applicant of this proposal.
Call / practice / interests
As artists, ornithologists, neo-shamans, gardeners, and ecologists, we identify with this vanished bird. Not by speaking about its habitat, but by letting its voice resound once more—by invoking, calling upon, and becoming part of what remains. We remain anonymous—not as individuals, but as an entity that makes absence tangible. From this position, we investigate how the relationship between gardens and landscapes contributes to species disappearance.
Local Context
The Lanius excubitor has disappeared from Italy. Trentino was the last region where it was seen. In 2010, two individuals were recorded near Tiers/Tires. In June 2014, a single individual was spotted near St. Ulrich-Urtijëi/ Ortisei, and the very last one appeared in July 2015 near Bruneck/Brunico. All these locations fall within the area where the Biennale takes place.
The Problematic Garden: A Hypothesis
We hypothesize that the way humans ‘garden’—cultivating and ordering the landscape—is problematic. A garden is not merely a space of growth and beauty, but also one of exclusion and control. We do not approach the garden as a romantic retreat, but as a system that transforms landscapes and displaces vulnerable species.
Actions & Methods
• Channelling the voice of Lanius excubitor: We listen to its call and speak on behalf of Lanius excubitor, approaching the landscape from its perspective.
• Searching for a lost habitat: Through observation, fieldwork, and documentation, we map the locations where Lanius excubitor once lived and compare them to the present state of the landscape.
• A relational approach: We engage in a physical and conceptual dialogue with the environment—not as outsiders, but as beings who must navigate it.
• The garden as a conflict zone: Through installations, interventions, and performative actions, we question the garden as a site of order, control, and unconscious exclusion.
Conceptual Directions & Outcomes
• The (call)out of Lanius excubitor – translated through a human voice, where Lanius excubitor ‘speaks or raps’ about the landscape that no longer hosts it.
• Cartography of absence – a visual map of landscape transformations, marking Lanius excubitor as a missing element.
• A living installation – a garden that is not curated but allowed to restore itself to a state where Lanius excubitor could return.
Summary
With this open call, we enter the biotope as a hybrid figure: artist, ornithologist, neo-shaman, gardener, and ecologist. We operate in the margins between presence and absence, between calling and silence. We remain anonymous to establish a radical relationship with the landscape—not as outsiders, but as mediators for a voice that has been unheard for too long and must now be called upon.
References
• 8 June 2014, 1 individual, near Ortisei/St.Ulrich, approximately here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FBWxgbuUqmewyHsG7
The dot is the centroid of a 1km square, so the location is not exact.
• 7 July 2015, 1 individual, near Brunico/Bruneck, approximately here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/mAHoy2PuQ81nRTFN6
The dot is the centroid of a 1km square, so the location is not exact.
Spokesperson on behalf of
Martin Brandsma,Jan van der Til
martinbrandsmajanvandertil@gmail.com
www.rhizomebook.com
The proposal was not executed.