Danse des Étourneaux

Danse des Étourneaux is a still ongoing project which currently encompasses a series of drawings, but which is bound to move into different materials later in 2022/2023.  Van Kelle is researching movement and new materials in this captivating project. Drawings can be purchased through the shop or email.

Danse des Étourneaux is a visual translation of vivid memories he has of a natural phenomena that happens every winter in Van Kelle’s maternal country of the Netherlands. Roughly from September until as late as March giant flocks of starling congregate in the hundreds of thousands to perform a spectacle known as murmuration. These small birds present a seemingly choreographed dance of pulling and pushing, which Van Kelle is researching in his own visual ways. DDE was born out of memory and being away from his country of birth, and is pushing him into mediums he hasn’t used before.