With Sperlingskauz, Swen Art opens a new chapter of his visual encyclopedia in Germany. The mural depicts the Eurasian pygmy owl, a small owl species found in the forests of Central and Northern Europe and across into Asia. It is the first bird in the series that does not live in the artist’s home region, making this work a meaningful expansion of the project beyond familiar territory.

Painting in Germany had a special personal significance for the artist. It is a country connected to some of his earliest memories of birds and nature: the great spotted woodpecker, the red kite flying overhead, long quiet walks through the forest in search of woodpeckers, nuthatches and anything that moved. These memories are also tied to his uncle, a passionate collector of birds, moths and natural curiosities, who helped nurture this fascination from an early age.

The work is also a tribute to that uncle. He had an extraordinary eye for finding “twisted sticks”, pieces of wood shaped over years by plants growing in spirals around branches. Once cut, peeled, polished and varnished, they became beautiful walking sticks. The artist imagines that, somewhere in those forests, perhaps a small pygmy owl might have watched over those walks and discoveries.

This mural is therefore more than a depiction of a bird. It is a work about memory, family, forests, observation and gratitude. It connects natural history with personal history, transforming the tiny Eurasian pygmy owl into a quiet symbol of all the years shared among birds, butterflies, woods and childhood wonder.