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Pelican soaring along Driggs Avenue. Wheatpasting by Erik Berglin. Photo by Kelsey Savage Hays.

Reading the Streets: Erik Berglin’s birds

Pelican soaring along Driggs Avenue. Wheatpasting by Erik Berglin. Photo by Kelsey Savage Hays.
Pelican soaring along Driggs Avenue. Wheatpasting by Erik Berglin. Photo by Kelsey Savage Hays.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Beautiful, wheatpasted birds popped up around Williamsburg early this fall, courtesy of the Swedish artist Erik Berglin. Scanned from books, or downloaded from the Internet, and installed on the fly with wallpaper glue, Erik’s feathered friends represent what he sees as the best of creatures that have adapted to urban environments.

From parrots to pelicans, Erik brings our attention to the endless variety of avian species with his delicate, realistic depictions. Berglin’s lighthearted decals aren’t an invitation to find a deeper meaning, according to Berglin, but rather to get onlookers to appreciate the animals that surround us. Erik takes his task very seriously – he’s pasted approximately 3,000 birds throughout Europe and the United States. Erik’s website proclaims his love of the animals, citing their ability to “have mastered all the elements, in addition to outstanding flyers among them can also be found fast swimmers, daring divers, runners and climbers.”

Berglin’s playful and flexibility is displayed in his other projects include “Surrounding Camouflage,” a work in progress that involves the infrared photographs hunters use to track deer, and his photographs that explore an eruption of the volcano Eldfell on the Icelandic island Heimaey. He’s had solo exhibitions, featuring his photographs in Sweden, Norway and Germany, as well as New York. For more information, check our ErikBerglin.com.


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


A parrot greets travelers on the L train. Wheatpasting by Erik Berglin. Photo by Kelsey Savage Hays.
A parrot greets travelers on the L train. Wheatpasting by Erik Berglin. Photo by Kelsey Savage Hays.