Starling

A sequel to Søren Solkær’s previous monograph Black Sun, Starling chronicles the photographer’s return to the landscape of his childhood and youth in southern Denmark. In a similar manner to prior projects, he spent three years following and photographing the migration of the starling: from Ireland to Denmark and the Netherlands along the Wadden Sea and on to Sardinia and Rome. The starlings move as one unified organism that vigorously opposes any outside threat. Shapes and black lines of condensation form within the swarm, resembling waves of interference or mathematical abstractions written across the horizon. The graphic and organic shapes of the starling murmurations range from meditative to highly dramatic as they perform their incredible ballet of life and death. This time, Solkær approaches the phenomenon from a mythological and scientific angle. These new perspectives capture the birds’ movements against backgrounds such as Roman urban architecture. Additionally, Solkær creates two new series of photographs featuring starling feathers photographed through a microscope.