The Silence of the Lens + Birdsong

David Claerbout: The Complete Works. The new book Birdsong and the acclaimed monograph The Silence of the Lens in one volume.

David Claerbout (b. 1969) lives and works in Antwerp and Berlin. He is known for his video installations, which he exhibits worldwide. His work is included in major public collections worldwide, including Centre Georges Pompidou Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris (France); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (Germany); Schaulager, Basel (Switzerland); Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (Canada) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (US).

The Silence of the Lens (2022) offers a unique insight into the creative process behind such recent video works as The Close, Aircraft (F.A.L.), Wildfire (meditation on fire), The Confetti Pieceand The Pure Necessity. In a conversation with Jonathan Pouthier, curator of the cinema programme of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), video artist David Claerbout reflects for the first time in depth on his work of the past decade in relation to current discussions about photography, film and the virtual.

Birdsong (2025) brings together three video works by David Claerbout – The Woodcarver and the Forest, Birdcage and Backwards Growing Tree – each a meditation on time, perception and the poetics of the natural world. In an era dominated by speed and distraction, Claerbout reclaims the longue durée, offering a contemplative, detoxed form of filmmaking.
Accompanied by a poem by Stefan Hertmans, this volume explores the myths of digitization, the rhythms of nature, growth and degrowth. Birdsong is a visual journey through the imaging ideas that the artist has developed over the past decade.

This unique package coincides with Claerbout's exhibition At the window at Gaasbeek Castle.