Ornithology refers to the scientific study of birds, including their physiology, classification, ecology and behaviour. Due to their visibility and colourful appearance, birds are a popular subject of both the sciences and the visual arts – photography in particular. With their pseudo-scientific approach hunter-collectors Geene & De Nooy defy the borders between these disciplines. Their classification of bird pictures exhibits the humorous outcome of creative and associative thinking, opening new perspectives on the subject. This exhibition aims to give an overview of their observations spanning more than a decade. Work from their publications Ornithology and Pigeon Milk will be shown, as well as installations and moving images. The exhibition may be seen both as a photographer’s study of birds and as an ornithologist’s excursion into photography. It is highly recommended by Charles Darwin, Harper Lee, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Parker and Woody Woodpecker, amongst many others.

Anne Geene (1983) studied Art and Cultural Studies at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, followed by the Royal Academy of Visual Arts (KABK) in The Hague, AKV|St. Joost in Breda and the Master Photographic Studies at the University of Leiden.

With the help of photography, Geene investigates, collects and arranges the world around her. She looks for similarities, patterns and phenomena.

www.annegeene.nl

Arjan de Nooy (1965) studied chemistry (in Leiden and Delft) and photography (at the KABK in The Hague). He constructs stories and theories based on his own photos and found material. An ongoing project is a fictional history of Dutch photography.

www.arjandenooy.com, www.denooycollection.com

Together with Sander Uitdehaag and Vincent van Baar, they were part of the Salvo collective from 2012 to 2021. Salvo's final exhibition took place at Pennings Foundation.

Geene and De Nooy each have a number of photo books to their names. Together they published the first version of 'Ornithology' in 2016. This book, designed by Jeremy Jansen, received the 'Goldene Letter' in 2017 for the world's best book design. This was followed by 'Dodonaei' (2017), 'The Universal Photographer' (2018) and recently a renewed and expanded edition of 'Ornithology' (2023) was published by their own publisher Blind Finch Books.