The artist duo Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg create stories that investigate themes of sexuality, lust, submission, fear, loss, jealousy, exploitation and greed. The artists develop narratives that are at once comical and seductive, erotic and violent and that frequently hint at the absurd. Their surreal, psychologically charged works always deal with human and animalistic desires.
The installation presented in this auction was exhibited in 2015 at gallery Giò Marconi in Milano as an extravagant parade of six smaller birds fleeing from a crime scene. Spotlights were switched on and off at varying intervals, exposing the dramatic robbery that was taking place in the dark. The feathered thieves, scurrying away with multi-coloured little pills in their beaks, were exposed in the stark light. A big blue pelican strides away gingerly with his loot in his beak whereas a dark brownish owl seems to pause and reconsider her deed; a bright red and orange bird on one leg almost falls off the table while trying to escape the crime scene…Their facial expressions are manifold but their actions are always the same: to flee their discovery and the nosy glance of the beholder.

Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg have been collaborating for over two decades; together, they have developed a deep symbiosis in their artistic process. Djurberg creates short stop-motion animations and Berg composes the music for them in close collaboration. Animations, sculptures and spatial installations form the foundation of their artistic practice. Relationships between people, animals and the forces of nature are the ever-present theme in their narratives. Surreal worlds that are often grotesque, raw and absurd, with a touch of black humour, are brought to life by Hans Berg’s hypnotic music, which evocatively amplifies the emotional mood and drives the narrative forward.

Nathalie Djurberg, born in 1978 in Lysekil, received her MFA from Malmö Art Academy in 2002. Hans Berg, born in 1978, comes from Rättvik and is a musician, producer and composer specialising in electronic music. Today, they are both based in Sweden after having lived abroad for many years, primarily in Berlin.

Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg were awarded the Silver Lion for their presentation at the 53rd Venice Biennale in Italy in 2009, and their works are held in numerous collections around the world, including the Prada Foundation in Milan, Italy, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and in many significant international private collections. The duo are constantly in the spotlight with exhibitions worldwide; in 2025, they opened a solo exhibition at the renowned Lisson Gallery in Beijing.