Fauna XXtraordinaire

An extraordinary animal landscape, sketched by two artists. One works with a well-founded eye for detail, while the other is endowed with a fantastic inner world. From September 13th, De Utrecht will be dedicated to Fauna XXtraordinaire.

Stern Nijland is a writer and illustrator, and with her open mind, she opens ours as well. She opens the door to a landscape that you, as a human, are welcome to enter, but cannot ignore. A whole series of picture books has emerged from her pen over the past decades, which were rightly awarded a Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pencil) in 2002. One thing always rapidly leads to another. Her love of nature set her on a firm path. Her richly illustrated children’s encyclopedias, The Animal Death Book and Humans and Animals, from Designer Dogs to Shark Swimsuits, were recently published by Lemniscaat. And there’s more; many more beautiful works are in the works.

For OC Hooymeijer, nothing is unimaginable. As the creator of a Non-Existent Bird World, he published several books. These include “The Little Guide to the Non-Existent Birds of Europe” (2016), “The New Guide to the Non-Existent Birds of Europe” (2019), and in 2022, “From Aarsvink to Zeebreker” (From Finch to Seabreaker). The bird worlds he builds, such as the installation “The Great Exotic Birdshow,” are captivating and revealing. For the rare Snowcrake, among others, the characteristically messy nest in De Utrecht was meticulously reconstructed, based on inner observation.

The non-existent biologist and ornithologist J.G. van der Putten (1851-1932) receives full credit for this. Portraits of Jan van der Putten and his wife are therefore included in the exhibition. Yet, it was OC Hooymeijer himself who (in 2021) received the Gerrit Benner Prize from the Province of Friesland!