Homecoming
Framed inkjet print
24 x 30 cm
The photograph depicts the great auk Iceland bought back in 1971 at an auction in London. On the flight
home, it was given its own seat and was greeted with a red carpet and a tour around the country when it arrived. The stuffed great auk was allowed to return home after a nationwide fundraising campaign in which private individuals donated their savings to make up for a sense of historical guilt, and reclaim what they saw as part of their own identity. The work takes a critical look at how we as humans have the ability to turn lives into artefacts, and shows how the great auk was not considered valuable until it was gone.
Installation view from Gallery KHM1, Malmö
Framed inkjet print
24 x 30 cm
The photograph depicts the great auk Iceland bought back in 1971 at an auction in London. On the flight home, it was given its own seat and was greeted with a red carpet and a tour around the country when it arrived. The stuffed great auk was allowed to return home after a nationwide fundraising campaign in which private individuals donated their savings to make up for a sense of historical guilt, and reclaim what they saw as part of their own identity. The work takes a critical look at how we as humans have the ability to turn lives into artefacts, and shows how the great auk was not considered valuable until it was gone.
24 x 30 cm
The photograph depicts the great auk Iceland bought back in 1971 at an auction in London. On the flight home, it was given its own seat and was greeted with a red carpet and a tour around the country when it arrived. The stuffed great auk was allowed to return home after a nationwide fundraising campaign in which private individuals donated their savings to make up for a sense of historical guilt, and reclaim what they saw as part of their own identity. The work takes a critical look at how we as humans have the ability to turn lives into artefacts, and shows how the great auk was not considered valuable until it was gone.
