Bird Politics
What if birds could represent themselves politically?
Bird Politics is a three-part performance project developed in Gudbrandsdalen between 2023 and 2024.
The project began with a real conflict: the construction of a new motorway through Lågendelta, a protected wetland and an important resting and feeding place for migrating birds.
What happens when protected nature stands in the way of human plans? Must nature always give way to human needs—and who is allowed to speak on behalf of the birds?
Across three performances, birds become political actors, displaced outsiders and unruly inhabitants of human society. Through costumes, theatre, humour and public participation, Bird Politics creates situations in which the usual relationship between humans and nature begins to shift.
Part 1 — Hakkespettsituasjonen, 2023
A group of woodpeckers is driven from the forest by logging, road construction and other development projects.
They move down through the valley and into its town centres, where they appear in shopping centres, streets and car parks. Dressed like punks and bikers, they search for somewhere new to belong.
The woodpeckers are treated as intruders: difficult individuals whose behaviour does not fit the human environment. Eventually, they encounter a group of local car enthusiasts—another community gathered around its own territory, codes and way of life.
A cautious alliance begins through worms, cars and mechanical tinkering.
Hakkespettsituasjonen was first presented as part of Mycelium 2023 at Harpefoss Art Arena.
Part 2 — The birds reclaim the forest, 2024
Road builders, German camping tourists and a representative of the church enter the forest at Okulus, each with their own plans for its future.
But the forest is already inhabited.
Developed during a week-long workshop with 24 pupils from Sør-Fron Primary School, the performance grew through conversations and debate, costume and prop making, and the development of characters and roles.
As the human visitors attempt to use the forest for their own purposes, communication breaks down. Eventually, the birds drive the intruders away and reclaim their territory.
The performance asked a simple question:
Must nature always give way to human needs?
Part 3 — Street Theatre in Gudbrandsdalen, 2024
For the final part, Bird Politics left the forest and entered shopping centres, public squares and town centres across Gudbrandsdalen.
The performances were unannounced. Holidaymakers, seasonal workers and other passers-by encountered the work in the middle of everyday life and were invited into what appeared to be a free rehearsal for an extremely expensive future premiere.
Actors, birds, participants and the surrounding public shared the same temporary stage. The distinction between performers and spectators became unstable, and the people who happened to be present became part of the developing situation.
The original question—whether nature must always move aside for humans—was no longer only performed for an audience. It became something the participants had to negotiate themselves.
Full-length documentation of one complete performance on the pedestrian street in Ringebu, Norway—one of several locations visited during the tour. Filmed from a single viewpoint, 25 min.
About the project
Bird Politics uses collective play, humour and performance to explore conflicts between development and protection, normality and difference, humans and other species.
Scientific knowledge can tell us about habitats, populations and endangered species. But imagining other living beings as political subjects also requires identification, doubt and imagination.
Rather than creating a politics for birds, the project asks whether we can imagine a politics in which the birds speak and act for themselves.
Bird Politics was developed by JAM PUBLIC in collaboration with Harpefoss Art Arena.
For this project, JAM PUBLIC included Pelle Brage, Julia Bruun, Ulrik Waarli Grimstad, Thomas Askeland Svendsen, Lone Eivindsdottir and Anna Øihusom, together with pupils from Sør-Fron Primary School and members of the public encountered along the way.
Part 2 was filmed and photographed by Martin Vinje.
Part 2 was supported by SpareBank 1 Gudbrandsdal, Sparebankstiftelsen and Kulturtanken.
