Iliyana Grigorova

These passports serve a dual purpose: they are literal records of birds' migratory movements, and metaphorical tools that question the very idea of national borders and fixed identities. By giving birds paperwork they neither need nor understand, the project draws attention to the absurdity of human-made systems of control, categorisation, and belonging. In this way, the work directly addresses Buna’s 2025 curatorial theme, which asks how we might reimagine borders, identity, and institutions in a time of deterritorialisation, technological transformation, and geopolitical instability. The work highlights the fragility of institutions caught between didactic control and performative inclusivity, and suggests the potential of non-human narratives to reshape our understanding of exile, migration, and citizenship. By centering the migratory bird—a creature both everywhere and nowhere—this work invites viewers to consider their own relation to borders—physical, cultural, and epistemological—and to reflect on what kind of community can exist when belonging is no longer confined to geography. Travelling across countries and habitats, my journey has led me to Lithuania, where thousands of birds cross through the Ventes Ragas Ornitological station each spring. There, they are being caught in the world's biggest bird trap in the world and fitted with a uniquely numbered ring. The measurements recorded in their “passports” are real data taken directly from each bird. This process of ringing helps scientists better understand the hidden lives and migratory patterns of these birds. I carried the project with me to the far-away island of Antikythera in Greece, where we ring birds on their migratory route north. Beyond scientific research, this project aims to introduce and spread knowledge about birds, bring awareness to their irreplaceable habitats and draw attention to the threats facing each species but also to question our sense of belonging.