When the Seagulls Follow the Trawler

Named after a famous quote from 1995 by football player Eric Cantona*, the film When the Seagulls follow the Trawler was born out of Klas Barbrosson’s own ornithophobia (fear of birds).

“The idea for the work had occupied my mind for a long time. The resistance was probably quite strong, but sooner or later I had to do this, somehow. I may not suffer from it that badly, but I have orniphotobia. It probably started with me watching Hitchcock when I was too young. One day I lost my cheeseburger in Gothenburg. A seagull took it out of my hand. I was so shocked that I went home and went to bed. Offended by a seagull. There, in bed with seagull-anxiety, staring at the ceiling the idea was born.”

In the form, style, and repetitiveness of a 1920s silent film, and with Hitchcockian wit, technique, and suspense, the video follows a Barbrosson who, for a week daily purchases a cheeseburger, expecting to walk and eat it in peace and quiet, only to be attacked by seagulls’ time and again. Barbrosson performs a kind of shock-cbt. “I have not been cured at all, but the adrenaline and anxiety literally gushed every day. Felt alive. After my week in Brunnsparken, the city put up signs that one must not feed the birds and that one must watch out for attacking birds.  You could say that the performative part influenced the cityscape.”

Klas Barbrosson (f. 1976) studied at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. He is known to question the concept of culture and to challenge the widely held belief that there are two types of culture: one more important type catering to the highly educated upper middle class, and one superficial, wear and tear-culture for the young and uneducated. Barbrosson is perhaps most well-known for the way in which he works with sports-culture in his art, and especially the world of 1990s football. One of his public artworks in Gothenburg is a pizza called En Nolla - First Klas, available to order at Odins Pizzeria.

Barbrosson has been exhibitied nationally and internationally at different art institutions such as Galleri Thomassen, Galleri Cora Hildebrand, Göteborgs konsthall, Kalmar Konstmuseum, Prosjektrum Normanns, Gallery Steinsland Berliner, Telemarks Artcenter, Art Paris, Bologna Art Fair, The Bucharest Biennale 5 and Copenhagen Art Festival.

*Football player Eric Cantona was ordered by his club Manchester United to speak at a press conference to explain his notorious kung-fu kick on an abusive Crystal Palace fan during a game in January 1995. At the press conference, the reluctant Cantona said: “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea,” then up and left. It was one of the most baffling utterances ever made by a footballer. What did it mean? Was he the trawler, the journalists the seagulls? All he would say by way of explanation was: it meant what it meant.

Klas Barbrosson about the film (English translation below):

"Idén till verket hade länge ockuperat min hjärna. Motståndet va nog ganska kraftigt men jag var ju förr eller senare tvungen att göra det här, på nåt sätt. Jag lider kanske inte så hårt av det, men jag har ornifotobi. Det började nog med att jag såg Hitchcock när jag va för liten. En dag blev jag av med min Cheeseburgare i Göteborg. En mås tog den ur handen på mig. Jag blev så chockad att jag gick hem o la mig. Kränkt av en mås. Där nånstans i sängen stirrandes i taket med måsångest föddes idén. Jag hade även tröttnat på att inte utsätta mig själv för nån slags utmaning, fara, adrenalin, kaos… Peter Land for genom huvet, likaså Buster Keaton. Även ett otroligt möte med 1920-talets stumfilmer som jag upplevde via en privat visning på Bundesarkiv i Berlin runt 2011. Otroligt vackra stumfilmer. Man blir rånad på cheeseburgare på bron över till Brunnsparken från Nordstans galleria i Göteborg. Den insikten hade min empiri gett mig. Utifrån en inbjudan att visa video på Katarina Hissen via Stockholm Konst, så passade nu äntligen idén in. Jag skulle en arbetsvecka samma klockslag gå med en cheeseburgare över nämnda bro. Och då bli rånad av en eller flera måsar. The horror. Verket skulle vara i formen av en 1920-tals stumfilm. En slags shock-kbt pågick på den där bron en arbetsvecka i februari 2023. Jag har inte botats nånstans men adrenalinet och ångesten bokstavligen forsade varje dag. Kände mig levande. Efter min vecka i Brunnsparken satte staden upp skyltar att man inte får mata fåglarna samt att man ska se upp för attackerande fåglar.  Den performativa delen påverkade stadsbilden kan man säga."

English translation:

"The idea for the work had occupied my mind for a long time. The resistance was probably quite strong, but sooner or later I had to do this, somehow. I may not suffer from it that badly, but I have orniphotobia. It probably started with me watching Hitchcock when I was too young. One day I lost my Cheeseburger in Gothenburg. A seagull took it out of my hand. I was so shocked that I went home and went to bed. Offended by a seagull. There, in bed staring at the ceiling, with seagull-anxiety, the idea was born. I was also tired of never exposing myself to any kind of challenge, danger, adrenaline, chaos... Peter Land went through my mind, as did Buster Keaton. And an incredible encounter with 1920s silent films that I had at a private screening at the Bundesarchiv in Berlin around 2011. Unbelievably beautiful silent films. You will be robbed of a cheeseburger on the bridge from Nordstan's mall in Gothenburg over to Brunnsparken. My empiricism had given me that insight. Based on an invitation from Stockholm Konst to show a video at Katarina Hissen, the idea finally fit in. I would walk over said bridge with a cheeseburger, at the same time every day for a week. And get robbed by one or more seagulls. The horror. The work was to be in the form of a 1920s silent film. A kind of shock-cbt was going on on that bridge one week in February 2023. I have not at all been cured, but the adrenaline and anxiety literally gushed every day. Felt alive. After my week in Brunnsparken, the city put up signs that one must not feed the birds and that one must watch out for attacking birds. You could say that the performative part influenced the cityscape."