Malte Sänger's photographic narrative of a Traveling Bird Collector follows the traces of the 'Harzer Roller', a canary that was one of the best-known and most popular German export goods in the 19th century, especially in the USA.

Bred in the villages of the Harz Mountains, the bird was not only popular for its melodious song, it was also used by miners around the world to save them from dying in the mines. If one of the canaries in the dark shafts stopped singing and fell unconscious from the perch, this signal protected the workers from inhaling excessive gas concentrations and enabled them to get to safety in time.

With the help of a large format camera he built especially for this series, Malte Sänger follows the winding paths of the Harz Roller and explores life deep in the layers of geology and in the cracks in our history. He is interested in the blind spots of this story and in the economic and ideological interests behind it.

Press release courtesy Galerie—Peter—Sillem.