Belgian ‘bird-man’ nests in Britain

26 May 2005

BRUSSELS – Belgian artist Benjamin Verdonck can be found ‘perched’ inside his own creation in Birmingham – a giant bird’s nest.

The nest hangs high up on the glass facade of an ultra-modern building in Britain’s second largest city, AFP news agency reported.

Called the ‘Great Swallow’, it is made of 90 kilogrammes (198 pounds) of cement, 60 kilogrammes (132 pounds) of sand, 12 buckets of glue with authentic branches of birch, willow and oak, is part of a week of art shows and installations in Britain’s second largest city.

“A swallow builds its nest in two weeks, I needed three months,” Verdonck said on his Internet site before setting up in his nest.

The street-theatre actor will perform from his nest for the people on the street 30 metres (98 feet) below and plans to stay in his nest for a week.

Verdonk prefers performing for the general public, far from the traditional theatres, and has a company with the provocative slogan: “the pop singers’ breasts are not real”.

The Belgian actor had already used the “Giant Swallow” in the heart of Brussels last year.

In 2002 he used his artistic talents in a protest against the war in Iraq with an installation where he spent three days in a cage under the title “I like America and America likes me”.

[Copyright Expatica]

Subject: Belgian news