Infrastructure of a migratory bird

Vladan Joler, Felix Stalder and Gordan Savičić

1 January 2020


Video installation and printed map

This work depicts in map form the extent of the technological infrastructure deployed in the early 2020s to reintroduce the northern bald ibis, a migratory bird with a historical habitat in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and a rich cultural history dating back to ancient Egypt, to Europe.

The species (Geronticus eremita) is on the red list of globally endangered species and became extinct in Europe in the 17th century. In 2013, after 11 years of previous studies, an initiative the renaturalization of the northern bald ibis in Europe began. In the first nine years, the number of birds reintroduced into the wild went from zero to almost two hundred. Most of them have been equipped with GPS trackers and are monitored in real time. According to current models, at least 357 birds are needed to make the population viable. This number is expected to be reached by 2028.

The map consists of a relational graph and three scales. The graph shows relationships between social, technological, informational and ecological elements which make up the anthropogenic ecosystem in which the bird is becoming wild again. The scales show the spatial, monetary and temporal dimensions of many of the elements that make up the relational graph.

Technology, the real-time tracking and social media coverage, serves as a way to increase the autonomy of the bird, supporting them to survive outside captivity, yet within densely populated, deeply cultured environments. Technology’s main purpose here is not surveillance but care, both directly by enabling biologists to help struggling animals in the wild, but also indirectly, by supporting a deeper, affective relationship of the population towards wild animals which are no longer anonymous, but known by name, each with its distinct history and personal character.

Artists: Vladan Joler, Felix Stalder and Gordan Savičić.

Work included in the exhibition Digital Machines: Technology, Industry, Society.

CREDITS

Work realized in the framework of the research project Latent Spaces: Performing Ambiguous Data.