Xavi Bou
Ornithographies
Sep 5 - 28, 2024
Ornithographies reveal the hidden beauty of bird’s flight paths, stitching several seconds into a single image. Although Ornithographies is a current project, it has a somewhat distant origin, since it is born from the innocent and restless gaze of the child, who once was Xavi Bou. The photographer’s admiration for nature, especially for birds, arose during his childhood thanks to unforgettable long walks with his grandfather. Since then, the photographer’s interest in birds has continued to grow, eventually becoming the focus of his project Ornithographies.
Ornithographies arises from the artist’s concern for capturing those unnoticed moments and from the interest in questioning the limits of human perception. Xavi Bou focuses on birds, his great passion, in order to capture in a single time frame, the shapes they generate when flying, making visible the invisible. Unlike other motion analyses which preceded it, Ornithographies moves away from the scientific approach of chronophotography used by photographers like Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey. The approach used by Bou to portray the scene is not invasive; moreover, it rejects the distant study, resulting in organic form images that stimulate the imagination.
Technology, science, and creativity combine to create evocative images which show the sensuality and beauty of the bird’s movements and which are, at the same time, clues for those wishing to identify or recognize them. In Ornithographies, the skill envied by men, the long-lasting shared yearning of flying, is presented to us, extending our visual perception. Art and science walk hand in hand to create images, which are no longer a single portrait of reality but become a witness of the instants that, for a moment, were past, present, and future all at once.
Ornithographies is a balance between art and science; a nature-based dissemination project and a visual poetry exercise but above all, an invitation to perceive the world with the same curious and innocent look of the child we once were.
Xavi Bou (Spanish, b. 1979, he/him/his) became interested in natural sciences at a young age, during walks with his grandfather in the wetlands of the Llobregat Delta. He graduated in Geology from the University of Barcelona and went on to complete his studies in photography. He dedicated 15 years to advertising and fashion photography, which not only helped him to master techniques, but also to acquire the aesthetic sensitivity that would eventually define his particular perspective. After that, he was able to apply this knowledge to his true passion: nature.
His most famous project, Ornithographies, started in 2015. The fact of showing the beauty of nature in a way never seen before guaranteed it a great reception from the beginning. After being showcased in numerous exhibitions around the world and widely disseminated in prestigious international publications, it also became reflected in a homonymous book published by Lynx Edicions.
Ornithographies reveal what escapes human perception: the invisible patterns traced by birds in the sky when they fly. Although aesthetics initially played a fundamental role in the project, throughout these nine years of trajectory the importance of the scientific aspect has increased, as a result of collaborations with specialists and the growth of the dissemination. In the words of the author, "It's the balance between art and science: a project of naturalistic discovery and, at the same time, an exercise in visual poetry”.
Currently, Xavi Bou has initiatives underway that explore other resources, such as video, and other study subjects, such as insects. Therefore, the raw material of his work continues to be nature, and the challenge is to show it in an innovative and aesthetic way that helps the public get closer to art and, above all, raises environmental awareness.