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Lawrence Malstaff: artist and kittiwake advocate in Tromsø.

Writer's picture: Delphin RuchéDelphin Ruché

Lawrence Malstaff is one of Rissa's advisors for many good reasons. A celebrated artist, he inspires us not only through his work but also through his values as a professional and his dedication to kittiwake conservation in Tromsø. Meet Lawrence Malstaff—artist, designer, and nature advocate—who is helping shape what will soon become one of Tromsø's most remarkable visual landmarks.


 Lawrence Malstaff in one if his kittiwake hotels in Tromsø.

Lawrence Malstaff in one of his kittiwake hotels in Tromsø.


Hi Lawrence, can you briefly introduce yourself?

Hi I’m Lawrence, visual artist originally from Belgium, 52 and living in Tromsø since 2009. I also have an education as industrial designer and often combine arts with science and technology. I often make kinetic installations that are moving or transforming over time. My work often revolves around themes like order and chaos, fragile balance and unpredictable processes. I have also worked a lot with dancers and theatre and with projects that include the audience as co-actors and co-creators.


Earlier generation of Lawrence Malstaff's kittiwake hotels in Tromsø.

Earlier generation of Lawrence Malstaff's kittiwake hotels in Tromsø.


You have played a key role in the project that gave birth to the kittiwake hotels in Tromsø. As an artist, why did you decide to participate in this project?

Before the kittiwake project, I had received support for an absurd activist - art project, "The Seagul Fountain". I planned to build a canon that would shoot up fish left overs from a pier near the city centre. My aim was to gather all the seaguls in Tromsø into a big cloud of protesting climate activists above the water. Nature’s very own guerilla. The location was next to an open site that developers wanted to fill with yet another high-rise-high-profit hotel that would privatise the shoreline. Anyway, my Seagul Fountain idea raised some serious eyebrows and caused a bit of storm in social media. Then I was invited by architect Kjeld Nash to a brainstorm on how to solve the kittiwake challenge in the museum park. It was a very interesting interdisciplinary group of scientists, architects and artists and it felt very meaningful to transform my original plans and contribute here. Developing the tripods was maybe more a design project, I think the art part was taken care of by the dance of the kittiwakes, their dramatic screams and flight patterns, the mating rituals and the precious new life one can observe from up close.


Successful pair of kittiwakes on one of Lawrence Malstaff's hotels.

Successful pair of kittiwakes on one of Lawrence Malstaff's hotels.


Would you say that your work is more and more inspired by environmental issues?

In recent years, I have become more and more engaged in nature conservation, and research with regenerative materials. Some years ago I signed the Paris agreement for small companies, a project by the United Nations and since then I try to actively transform my art practice into a sustainable ecosystem. So not only talk about the climate challenges and criticise ‘the politicians’ but also practice what I preach. How much can I travel? Is it ok to ship big crates to Asia or the USA for an ‘important’ exhibition? Boring and judgemental questions maybe, but the upshot was that these limitations only lead to new possibilities, new material research and aesthetics, and new meaningful contexts. Suddenly, my projects are in the middle of the real world and not only in a nice art gallery or theatre for a select audience.


Lawrence Malstaff's hotel made of recycled material, in March 2024.

Lawrence Malstaff's hotel made of recycled material, in March 2024.


You were living in Tromsø even before the first kittiwake started nesting in the city. Did you perceive a change in people's attitude towards kittiwakes over the years?

That’s a nice observation. Most people including myself didn’t know the difference between a kittiwake and other seagulls until 3 years ago. I was always fascinated by the seagulls in general, the only wild animal, smart enough to survive that close to us humans. But in general, seagulls were considered a growing plague. Every summer, newspapers were filled with complaints about the noisy kebab seaguls stealing your sausage or waffle from your bare hands. Since the Kittiwake hotels, and all the communication around, a growing number of people sympathise and have turned into supporters.


A Kittiwalker monitoring a kittiwake hotel designed by Lawrence Malstaff.

A Kittiwalker monitoring a kittiwake hotel designed by Lawrence Malstaff.


Can you tell us about your next project involving kittiwakes?

December and January have become busy times for the kittiwake crew. At the moment, we are constructing a new and much larger hotel for 540 nests in the museum park. It is a semi permanent construction with minimal footprint and material use. It replaces the older hotels that are now being upgraded and relocated to a new site behind Teoribygget. Here, we will attempt the same procedure, with gradual steps, moving away from the building that will be torn down. The same behind the old Mack brewery: we will install two more hotels on skis and will move them slowly south, away from the planned construction works and buildings. In all cases, the plan is not to get rid of kittiwakes but to find places of coexistence where they are safe and comfortable and where we can observe and enjoy their mating and nesting rituals from close by.

The next generation of kittiwake hotel in Tromsø.

The next generation of kittiwake hotel in Tromsø.



We are particularly grateful to Sparebankstiftelsen SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge for supporting Rissa's efforts to promote coexistence with kittiwakes in Tromsø.
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