Although Ornitographies is a current project, its origins trace back to Xavi Bou’s innocent and curious childhood gaze. The artist’s deep admiration for nature, particularly birds, blossomed during his cherished long walks with his grandfather.
Since then, Bou’s fascination with birds has only intensified, eventually becoming the focal point of his project, Ornitographies. The series emerged from his desire to capture those unnoticed moments and to explore the limits of human perception.
Xavi Bou concentrates on his great passion, birds, striving to capture the intricate shapes they form while in flight within a single frame, making the invisible visible.
Unlike previous motion analysis approaches, Ornitographies deviates from the scientific method of chronophotography employed by photographers like Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey. Bou’s approach to portraying avian scenes is non-invasive and rejects distant observation, resulting in organic images that ignite the imagination.
Technology, science, and creativity converge to create evocative images that reveal the sensuality and beauty of bird movements, simultaneously serving as clues for those seeking to identify or recognize specific species.
Ornitographies presents the coveted skill of flight, the enduring aspiration of humanity, expanding our visual perception.
Art and science intertwine harmoniously to produce images that transcend mere representations of reality and instead become witnesses to moments that exist simultaneously in the past, present, and future.
Ornitographies strikes a delicate balance between art and science—a nature-centered dissemination project and a visual poetry exercise. Above all, it invites us to see the world through the same curious and innocent eyes we once possessed as children.
Xavi Bou graduated from Barcelona University with a degree in Geology and also studied at the International Photography Grisart School. Throughout his studies, Bou taught photography on the side. In 2003, after completing his education, he began his professional career in the fashion and advertising photography industry as an assistant photographer. In 2009, together with his partner Dani Ciprian, he co-founded La Crin Studio, a photography retouching studio specializing in major campaigns for national and international brands and magazines.
Currently, Bou balances his retouching work with the development of his personal photography projects. His passion for nature has inspired projects like Ornitographies, where he explores the technical possibilities of photography while placing nature at the forefront. Through his work, Bou aims to convey a message that challenges us to reconsider our perception, offering a fresh perspective on our environment.
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Ornitographies has garnered recognition in prominent European magazines, including The Guardian, de Volkskrant, Sonntag, The Spiegel, National Geographic, and Geo. The project has also been exhibited in the Netherlands, the United States, and Spain.
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