CAMBRIDGE, UK.- Kettle’s Yard will feature Henrik Håkansson, 29 September - 18 November 2007. Swedish artist Henrik Håkansson will make his first solo show in a public gallery at Kettle's Yard this Autumn.

In 2005, Håkansson’s Birdconcert at the Royal College of Music in London confronted audiences with the spectacle of a lone bird on a stage in the place of an orchestra, prompting an unexpected array of emotions in the gathered crowd as they waited for the bird to sing during the 20 minute 'performance'. Poignant and incisive, Håkansson’s work invites us to reflect on the complexities of our relationship with the natural world.

Through his videos, sound works, and complex installations, Håkansson extracts fragments from natural cycles that he documents and recreates. Often with the aid of sophisticated technological means, the artist observes the growth of plants, birds, and insects. He looks at different cultural attitudes towards, and scientific understanding of, the natural world. His combination of empathy and objectivity makes his work both timely and germane, and the artist himself one of the most interesting figures of his generation.

Håkansson's practice frequently leads him to assume the role of a wildlife documentary filmmaker, a museum curator or research scientist. He combines these scientific systems of communication and observation with the languages of popular culture (from the internet to records and posters) to create aesthetically minimal and ethically complex artworks.

The exhibition at Kettle's Yard will focus on recent works about birds, including endangered species such as the Bali Mynah and Gurney's Pitta. Henrik Håkansson's website is at http://www.haakansson.net/