Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN
A process-based sculpture project encompassing all Swedish bird species.
Photo by Natalie Greppi / Varbergs Konsthall
Photo by Natalie Greppi / Varbergs Konsthall
Photo by Natalie Greppi / Varbergs Konsthall
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
Photo by Fredrik Strid
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
ECHO
A sculpture exploring the museum as a place where nature is collected, ordered and given meaning.
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
Photo by Emma Krantz /Skissernas Museum
Fredrik Strid’s solo exhibition MAKING NATURE, presented at Skissernas Museum in Lund in 2024, explored how nature is observed, collected, classified and represented.
At its centre was ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN (2018–2024), a process-based project comprising 257 Swedish bird species, each modelled at full scale in clay and cast as candles in white stearin. The slow, tactile process of modelling each bird, making the moulds and casting the wax is what Strid describes as “sculptural bird watching,” bringing close attention to each species through the physical act of making.
Presented in a shelving system resembling a natural history collection, the fragile birds appear preserved and permanent, while their candle wax carries the potential for disappearance—a tension that recalls the vanitas tradition and its meditation on time and mortality.
Alongside the finished birds, the exhibition presented the clay originals and moulds from the making process, as well as a film produced by Skissernas Museum documenting the project and Strid’s artistic process.
In dialogue with ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN, ECHO (2024), created specifically for the exhibition, articulated another dimension of the museum as a place where nature is collected, ordered and given meaning.
Together, the works opened up a space for reflecting on the ways in which nature is encountered, made, preserved and understood through the museum.
Documentation of the exhibition, including images and all wall texts from the exhibition, is available to view or download below.
The film STUDIO VISIT
Below you can watch a five-minute version of STUDIO VISIT (Swedish only). The full 35-minute film was produced by Skissernas Museum in Lund for the exhibition and takes the form of an artist interview, offering deeper insight into the process and background of ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN.
The full 35-minute version with English subtitles is available upon request for private viewing by arts professionals and institutions.
ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN — EXHIBITION HISTORY
Following its presentation in MAKING NATURE at Skissernas Museum, ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN was subsequently presented in two further solo exhibitions: ALL BIRDS OF SWEDEN at Rackstadmuseet in 2025 and SLEEP at Varberg Konsthall in 2025–2026.