Hirondelle/dooi vogeltje/the great swallow

The second part of Benjamin Verdoncks ‘Publieke Domeinencyclus'(public domain cycle) is titled ‘Hirondelle/dooi vogeltje/the great swallow’, taking place 4 years after Bara/ke in 2000, at the Bara Square. Both are performative residencies/theatrical pieces up in the air and are looking at the function of art/theatre in public. Leaving his wooden cabin behind, he now opts to recreate a birds nest, for him to live in for 7 days during his participation at the 2004 Kunsten Festival des Arts in Brussels. Attached to the glass surface of a modern building in central Brussels the self-made 31 meters high up nest by Verdonck contrasts with the architecture and the transit aspect of its location. It was like a pirate’s nest he says, a nest could be a symbol of liberty as well. He performs the tragic story of  a man who CAME, SAW, SPOKE and – in an attempt to hug his audience – FELL. Leaving crayon marks on the ground surface and an ambulance behind. In 2005, the work and nest travel to Birmingham for another rather spectacular ‘fall’, reaching for the audience (literary and figuratively).