Published on the occasion of her Spring 2008 exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Colnaghi, Roni Horn's catalog Bird highlights a selection of close-up studio portraits of taxidermied Icelandic birds, a typology that Horn worked on for more than ten years. The usually wild animals are each seen here set in front of white backdrops, lit evenly and shown from behind, a revealing point of view that somehow transforms the birds into strangely beautiful, non-figurative surfaces.

The 20 photographs in the book-- elegantly edited and printed in collaboration with Steidl-- are laid out in pairs, a decision on the part of Horn that seems to ask the viewer to carefully consider each species in relation to the others. Though abstracted in form, the detail provided begs the reader to study the intricacies of each of the wildfowl's feathers. Turning through the pages of the book again and again, the collection of birds almost becomes a singular representation, one that calls to mind the haunting yet tranquil landscape of Iceland, the home of these birds. Whether the artist's intention or not, I find this quality of the book to be the strong point.





Writer and curator Philip Larratt-Smith compiled a collection of bird-related words and phrases (along with references from various films, poems, photographic history and Horn herself) to conclude the book - a piece playfully titled "Hornithology." Though enjoyable, in my opinion its inclusion makes it more difficult to discover the depth of the images and experience the aspect of the book that I found to be most moving.



Despite my own wish for the book to exist as a poetic gesture solely of images, Bird is exceptionally realized as is, shelved by many as yet another brilliant photographic project by artist Roni Horn. —Shane Lavalette