Swedish artist Henrik Håkansson installs birdhouses with surveillance cameras at Milan hostel Combo

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Swedish artist Henrik Håkansson created a site-specific installation titled Birdhouse Project 005 / COMBO birdbox #001-004 at Combo Milano, a hostel in Milan that also has locations in Venice and Turin. The installation consists of small birdhouses designed for species like blue tits and great tits, which typically nest in spring. Each birdhouse is equipped with a closed-circuit camera that streams real-time footage to twelve monitors placed on the ground floor and stairwell of the hostel. The work explores themes of community, surveillance, and peaceful coexistence among different species, habits, and cultures. Bruno Barsanti, Art Project Developer at Combo, stated that the birdhouses serve as both a refuge for birds and a device to prompt broader reflection on surveillance and community, especially within a hostel setting. The first resident, a great tit, built a nest and laid eggs on Easter Sunday. The eggs have since hatched, and the chicks are now in a safe environment. The project is part of Combo's ongoing commitment to art and creativity, even while the hostel is closed to human guests due to the pandemic.