Hof der dingen - Guillemot

Be more attentive and caring towards the nature you live in. And learn to truly observe. People don’t do that anymore. When you’re out walking, you’re often completely unaware of your surroundings and the treasures you’re passing. 

Jan the Guillemot is one of those treasures — a remarkable discovery Tania made in 1978 while beachcombing in Raversijde after a storm. Beachcombing – what on earth is that? It’s when you search for and collect objects along the seashore. It’s a popular pastime, with people collecting items like driftwood, sea glass, and seashells. 

“During the week, we lived in Ghent, but from Saturday morning to Sunday evening, we were always at the coast,” she recalls. “Beachcombing was a ritual. With a makeshift little cart, we’d head out to the beach. On one of those trips, we found a bird tangled in the storm debris, brought in by the sea.” 

Sadly, the bird had not survived. “But we had it preserved by a taxidermist, and since then, it’s been a part of our family — a tangible memory of those days by the sea.” What do they miss the most now? “The wind in my hair, the sand, the beach, the colours.”