‘Little Bittern’ is a cross-platform project exploring the subject of immigration through art, journalism, sound and animation.
As a reflection on the European ‘Migration Crisis’, Little Bittern explores the links and disparities between human and ornithological migration. Having spent time in the Calais ‘Jungle’ throughout 2015 we met many people who have fled their countries as part of the largest ‘irruption’ of human mobility in recent memory, where over 1 million irregular migrants reached European shores in 2015 alone, over 1 million more live in refugee camps in both Jordan and Lebanon, and over 6 million are internally displaced within Syria.
The multi-disciplinary project consists of various artistic mediums and aims to create a thought-provoking presentation of the struggles individuals have faced, as well as exploring their hopes and perceptions of life in the UK. The project combines our experiences of visiting Calais multiple times over a number of months in order to paint an alternative picture to the one largely portrayed by the media.
The birds represent interviews conducted in the Calais ‘Jungle’ with Alam (Sudan), Wassem (Syria), and Khalid and Ahmed (Afghanistan), who tell us of their escape into the unknown and their hopes for finding a better life.
Illustrations, accompanied by poignant quotes from the interviews, were initially part of Temporary Autonomous Art and were then auctioned off at Breaking Borders to raise money for the Refugee Community Kitchen in Calais.
The current piece in this on-going project consists of a signpost displaying the distances and directions between the UK and the war zones of Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan. Atop the post are three migratory bird sculptures: the Eurasian Spoonbill from Sudan, the Common Cuckoo from Syria and the Little Bittern from Afghanistan.
The sculpture’s barbed wire aesthetic represents the hostility often shown towards humans migrating into Europe, which exists in stark contrast to the fluidity of bird flight. Their fragility reminds us of the precarious nature of these journeys, and their presence here at Boomtown reminds us of the absence of refugees who have tried to reach our shores but instead are stopped at borders, detained, and sent back.
Combined with film footage of the ‘Jungle’ camp, talking heads will take the form of animated birds in order to preserve anonymity and symbolise the theme of migration. The documentary animation style aims to break down the barriers between the migrants and the audience, and (in spite of their bird form) humanise the interviewees, allowing the viewer the opportunity to identify with their respective migratory motivations and harrowing experiences.
We are currently in post-production with our editor who has previously worked with Lars Von Trier and are putting together soundscapes that will work both with and without the images. The issues the film addresses are so important that we aim to have the first sound edit ready for late Summer.
Little Bittern
Everybody should be able to spread their wings.
