Søren Solkær, a renowned Danish photographer famous for his portraits of musicians, actors and directors, has in recent years turned his attention to a fascinating natural phenomenon: the murmurations (immense flocks of millions) of starlings. This change of subject gave rise to two significant projects, ‘Black Sun “ and ”Starling’, which explore the spectacular aerial formations of these birds. ‘Black Sun’, the first project, draws inspiration from the Danish ‘sort sol’, a term describing the enormous dark clouds formed by starlings at sunset.
Growing up in southern Denmark, Solkær has had a deep fascination for these birds since childhood. His photographs masterfully capture the moment when starlings unite in defence against predators, creating dancing figures in the sky. Through this work, the artist aims to inspire a deeper connection with nature and ourselves, arguing that natural patterns communicate on a universal level. Subsequently, Solkær published ‘Starling’, a monograph documenting starling murmurations in various European locations, including Rome, Sardinia and the Wadden Sea. This book not only shows the spectacular aerial formations, but also delves into the microscopic aspects of starlings’ existence, presenting detailed images of their feathers. In ‘Starling’, Solkær approaches the phenomenon from both mythological and scientific perspectives, exploring how the beauty of nature can be perceived through different layers of reality.

Solkær’s work offers an interesting contrast to Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘The Birds’, where nature is depicted as hostile and threatening. In contrast, in Solkær’s photographs, starlings seem to invite us to reconcile with the natural world, encouraging us to rediscover our connection with it. The book ‘The 12 Steps. Symbols, Myths, and Archetypes of Recovery ‘ by Kikan Massara suggests that we should seek ways to reconnect with the sacred. Solkær seems to achieve this search for spirituality through his photography. His works invite us to reflect on deeper, more spiritual themes, using the beauty of starlings’ murmurings as a catalyst for a greater awareness of our real place in the natural world.

In short, Søren Solkær uses his art to explore and celebrate the complexity of nature and the intrinsic connection between humanity and the natural world. His ‘Black Sun’ and ‘Starling’ projects not only document a unique phenomenon, but also serve as invitations to reconnect with spirituality through the observation of natural beauty, offering a perspective that contrasts with the more threatening media portrayals of nature and inviting deeper reflection on our relationship with the world around us.

We interviewed Søren Solkær for you.
What inspired you to approach photography? What is your personal history with photography?
After high school, I went travelling for 18 months. Despite a very tight travel budget, I bought my first SLR camera in Singapore in 1989 and had to live on rice and bananas for a while.
The camera became my key to meeting the world. I explored places I would not have dared enter and approached strangers that my shy young self would not dare face without a camera around my neck. After my first trips, I studied Nordic literature for a couple of years. Then I went travelling for another year. On this trip, photography was my main focus. When I returned to Denmark, I applied to FAMU, the Prague Academy of Photography and Film, and studied photography there for a couple of years in the mid-1990s. Then I moved to Copenhagen and started doing personal art projects. I came across a friend from my hometown who had become a famous musician on the Danish music scene, Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes. We started collaborating on his band’s photographs and shortly afterwards I started to establish myself as a music photographer, first in Copenhagen and then in London. Over the next 25 years I did commercial work in the music, fashion and creative industries, along with producing my own projects, exhibitions and books.

With ‘Black Sun’ your research shifts from human portraits to nature. Why did you choose starlings and their spectacular murmurings as your subject?
In 2017 I was working on a book and a 25-year retrospective exhibition of portraits at Frederiksborg Castle. I was going through all my portraits for a year and decided I wanted to do a new project that wasn’t about portraits. The first thing that came to my mind was an image of a large flock of starlings that I had seen flying in intriguing formations when I was ten years old. It made a deep impression on me at the time. I had never before seen nature perform wonders on that level.

‘Black Sun’ was very much a return to the landscape of my childhood. It was also a time of reconnecting with nature after spending most of my adult life in big cities. I was trying to reconnect with the fascination I felt as a child and create images of the phenomenon in the marshy landscape.
What was the evolutionary path that led you from ‘Black Sun’ to ‘Starling’, and what is your favourite picture in ‘Starling’? What makes it special to you?
After publishing ‘Black Sun’ I soon felt that I was far from exhausting my interest in starlings. ‘Starling’ examines the phenomenon of murmuration from a more scientific and mythological angle. I have loved working on the same subject for many years. With more time and energy invested, the project begins to return and offer new and often surprising perspectives.
My favourite Starling photograph is a mural around St Peter’s Church. It captured the auspicious essence I was looking for in the murmuration. It was also one of the first successful attempts to include man-made structures in my murmuration images.

Why did you choose to photograph so much in Rome? Do you think your images can help Romans see starlings with different eyes, appreciating their beauty rather than considering them just a nuisance?
I chose Rome initially because of the high number of birds. At first it was very difficult to photograph them because of the buildings, light poles, electric cables, etc. After a few trips to Rome, as I gained more experience, I looked for rooftops that offered vantage points on the most popular haunts for the millions of starlings that arrive in Rome every winter evening after enjoying an olive feast in the surrounding countryside. The passage of starlings is a timeless spectacle – an ephemeral masterpiece in the Roman skies. In ancient Rome, starlings were believed to be messengers of the gods; their flights and calls conveyed omens and messages from the skies. Their presence was considered divination – a glimpse into the intentions of the gods who governed the fate of the empire. This seems to have been forgotten today. I am actually hoping that my pictures will awaken the Romans’ interest in what is happening in the sky above them. I have a feeling it is working. At least I get very positive feedback when I show my work to locals.

Do you think photography can have a transcendent dimension?
I have experienced that photography can transfer or emit spiritual energy. In one of my first books ‘Souls’ I photographed yogis meditating on a mountain top in India from 1998 to 2011. I was trying to capture the spiritual energy I felt in abundance on the mountain. When I exhibited these portraits in many Western countries, people would sit in front of these images and enter a meditative state. It is very clear to me that photography, as a medium, can transmit or communicate spiritual energy.

In looking for meaning in the forms created by the flocks, do you think we sometimes try to bend everything to our rationality?
(from my preface):
The mind tries to illuminate these fleeting forms with narratives of its own. Pareidolia is a fascinating phenomenon of the human mind, that is, our natural tendency to look for and find familiar patterns, shapes or faces in random or abstract stimuli. Such ethereal visions arise from the interaction between bird and sky, an evocation of the mind and its desire for familiar forms. It highlights the power of the human imagination and our ability to find beauty and meaning in the mesmerising patterns created by these birds. I believe this is an ancient fascination and faculty of the human mind.
Starling studies taught Nobel Prize winner Parisi a lot about complex systems. What did they teach Søren Solkær?
They taught me interconnectedness, a shared wisdom honed through countless generations of survival – a testament to the power of collective action. They gave me some hope for the planet, realising the great intelligence behind everything in nature.

Do you think our society has somewhat lost touch with the spiritual dimension?
I think most people in the western world have lost that connection. But I see it remaining in many other cultures I visit. I fear that mobile phones and consumerism are very tough competition when it comes to our attention span and aspirations for our lives. However, I hope and work to inspire a reaction against technology.

Many of your photos of starlings are reminiscent of Shodo, the Japanese calligraphy. What is your connection to Japan?
I print my works myself – I do it on handmade Japanese washi paper. I have been going to Japan since the late 1990s and I have a lot of respect for Japanese craftsmanship and tradition. The Japanese produce the best quality paper in the world. In the Black Sun project, I am very inspired by the Japanese tradition of woodcut and calligraphy. Once the images of Black Sun were printed on washi paper, I realised it was a perfect match, the birds had come home. I will visit the paper mill in a few weeks when I travel to Japan to exhibit some of my work in a museum.
The quality and craftsmanship of your books are extraordinary. What choices did you make to achieve this? What was the biggest challenge you faced in creating these two books?
I print in a spiritual ashram in the Danish countryside. The printers are monks and nuns. Narayana Press is the name of the place. Great attention is paid to the details of the books I make with them. I look for different types of paper with my graphic designer Rasmus Koch. We try to find papers that make leafing through the book a tactile experience. Certain types of paper, weight and surface are more suitable for certain types of images. Alternating different qualities makes the reading sensation more interesting. The challenge was to create a material equivalent of a very ephemeral experience.

What was the most unforgettable or significant moment you experienced while creating ‘Starling’ or ‘Black Sun’?
It was an evening in late February 2020, and I was in the marshes of Friesland, a northern province of the Netherlands. Above my head, hundreds of thousands of starlings were swirling, diving and dipping dramatically, darkening the sky. The sound of their wings echoed in the air, creating wind patterns on the otherwise pristine water surface. Next to me was a very elderly Dutch woman. We were both in awe and I was photographing and filming, while she just watched. At the end of the murmuring all became silent. I looked at the woman. She was crying. ‘It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,’ she said. I could only agree with her. My body still retains a strong memory of that experience.

After ‘Sterling’, what is your next photographic project?
I am working on three new projects. One on the island of Socotra, Yemen. One on Bhutan, the Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom and one on spiritually enlightened people and wisdom keepers from around the world.

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Søren Solkær is participating in BìFotoFest 2024 with his exhibition ‘Black Sun’. The festival takes place in Mogoro, Sardinia, from 19 October 2024.