Ian van Coller’s Lundi

Cover of Lundi by Ian van Coller, featuring an intricate orange cutout design on green fabric, with stylized puffins and floral motifs.

Ian van Coller, Lundi, 2016, handmade artist book, 16.5 x 22 in., Amherst College Archives & Special Collections.

Introduction: 

Ian van Coller created Lundi to bring attention to the role humans play in the decline of the Atlantic Puffin population, as climate change disrupts their food source. While this decline is significant on its own, it also signals deeper disruptions to ecosystems caused by global warming. Over the last decade, a career goal of van Coller has been to record elements of the world that might go extinct due to climate change. He creates handmade artist books as “memorials” to what the world is losing. Lundi is one of those books. Lundi fits within van Coller’s broader focus on global warming and human impact, but stands out in its specific focus on the Atlantic Puffin population.1

Background:

While van Coller’s previous works center on his photography, Lundi stands out as it uses multiple mediums. In Lundi, van Coller includes collages, scientific journals, historical printouts, and photographs. The book itself is 16.5” x 22”, with 72 unnumbered pages, each hand-cut and assembled by van Coller using a scalpel. Van Coller completed the printing and layout himself, while the bookbinding and letterpress printing were done by Rory Sparks. The photographs in Lundi were taken in Iceland and the Faroe Islands in 2014, regions known for hosting over 25% of the global Atlantic puffin population.2 Similar to Lundi, many of van Coller’s books span up to 40 inches wide, making them difficult to produce in large quantities. Copies are rare, making Lundi a unique and valuable addition to the Amherst Frost Library. Since his 2016 publication of Lundi, van Coller has continued to publish new books and projects with a clear focus on climate change.3

Weather:

In Lundi, van Coller documents both the daily weather and the larger environmental shifts in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Throughout the book, there are several pages where landscape photographs stretch across the entire two-page spread. On these pages, each landscape captures various weather patterns. Some landscapes focus on wind. Many portray large tan fields overlooking the ocean, where the texture of the grass and ocean currents move in one direction. These wind patterns remain consistent throughout the book. Almost all landscape photographs include the ocean. In some photographs, the ocean dominates the entire page as the clear focal point, while in others, the ocean lingers in the distance. In both cases, the ocean is cold, and harsh. Furthermore, the skies are rarely sunny. On most pages, the sky is cloudy, foggy, and dull, giving the entire book a hazy tone. While none of the photographs depict rain itself, the bright green land filled with vegetation highlights the abundance of rainfall present in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Lastly, van Coller includes images of puffin manure scattered on the mountain tops, which certainly contributes to the greenery. Overall, the landscape photographs in Lundi show consistent weather patterns, shaped by wind, and overcast skies. The weather does not feel peaceful; it feels heavy, but not chaotic. The photographs featuring herds of puffins suggest a healthy living environment, as they graze peacefully on the land. 

Two-page landscape of steep, grass-covered cliffs along the coastline,with small, brightly colored houses on the slopes
Two-page landscape of a large coastal cliff. The tan grass and ocean currents move in one direction, and a singular puffin overlooks the ocean.
Two-page landscape photograph of a steep, narrow coastal gorge with towering rocks. The weathered cliff is is covered in green moss, and the dark water is scattered with large rocks.
A landscape of vibrant green grass is covered with Atlantic puffins, some perched near the cliff's edge while others nest in the grass, with the ocean visible in the distance under an overcast sky.

Climate:

While most of the photographs focus on weather, the scientific journals and press clippings depict long-term climate change affecting puffin life cycles. On one page, there is a print of two puffin eggs, beside a passage that reads of a “continuous decline (since 1900) of the number of breeding birds.” On another page, there is a lifeless puffin strung up after being hunted. Furthermore, there are pages depicting hunting where men hold large nets and look for puffins. One of van Coller’s most pressing concerns is the long-term impact climate change has on puffin life cycles. Recent studies show that shifts in forage fish stocks and changing sea temperatures have contributed to a decline in puffin reproduction, such as a decrease in puffin egg size.4 Throughout the book, van Coller will show the viewer a vibrant photograph of healthy puffins and beautiful landscapes, and then will abruptly reveal a violent, disturbing print on the following page. The positive interaction between puffins and weather patterns contrasts with the destruction caused by humans.

A historic illustration of puffins perched on a coastal cliff on the left, overlaid with translucent text discussing puffin populations. On the right, a muted photograph shows two puffin eggs, one pale green and one speckled, set against an aged background.
Two-page spread with a close-up photograph of an Atlantic puffin's head, surrounded by intricate, hand-cut patterns resembling flowing currents or feathers. 
Spread with cutouts of swirling patterns that show the grass and sky behind. Left, a photograph of a lone Atlantic puffin holding a fish, right, an illustration of fishermen holding a net surrounded by seabirds.

Taxonomic Classification–Page Focus:

The second page of Lundi captures the complex relationship between Atlantic Puffins and their changing environment. At the center of the page lies a historic printout, likely taken from a scientific journal, bordered by text that provides context for the seabirds. On the right, two puffins stand prominently, their distinctive large beaks contrast with the other seabirds, including penguins, ducks, geese, and other coastal species. The numbers beside each bird signal a taxonomic classification, which categorize each species. On top of the printout lies small white cutouts, shaped like fragmented currents or wind patterns, interrupting the text and creating movement on the page. The circular border surrounding the printout reads, “while the fishing had affected seabird populations in the past, the 2004 and 2005 problems could not be caused by fishing as the fishing is now strictly controlled.” The passage then shifts to the broader climate changes, stating, “the shallow North Sea is heating up quickly, by between 1 °C and 2 °C in 30 years.” This warming disrupts the entire marine food web, altering the timing and distribution of “tiny plants and the small animals that feed on them”, which leads to “changes in size and distribution in sand eels,” a critical food source for puffins and other seabirds. Without enough sand eels for their colonies, seabirds “will have a poor breeding season, or even disastrous ones like 2004 and 2005.” By including this page and passage early in Lundi, van Coller introduces one of his central messages: human-induced climate change poses a severe threat to the survival of puffins.

Spread with a historic printout of various seabirds, including puffins, bordered by translucent text. Small white cutouts like currents or wind patterns are layered above.

The Puffin Hunter–Page Focus:

Similar to the previous page, this page shows the destruction humans inflict on Atlantic puffins. On the left side, the otherwise blank page features a small, off-white printout at the top. The black and white printout is likely taken from an old scientific journal. A man in a black suit is the focal point. His jacket is loose and flapping, as he struggles to climb up a steep mountainside. His left hand grips a strung-up lifeless puffin, its body limp and cold. His hat is caught in the sky, having fallen off from the harsh winds, almost as if the weather is trying to stop him from his destruction. Three puffins circle the man, creating a chaotic, unsettling scene. Small black lines in the distance indicate a herd of birds in flight, flying in the man’s direction. The left page forces the viewer to confront the harsh, exploitative relationship between humans and wildlife. On the right page, the tone shifts. Here, a close-up photograph of a dead puffin takes up about a third of the page. The puffin is stiff, with its right foot bound tightly with a tag. The feathers, once sleek and white, are now brittle and dull. At first glance, the viewer might miss the flip page van Coller places over the dead puffin. When lifted, it reveals a beautiful drawing of a living puffin. The puffin’s vibrant beak stands out against its dark feathers. On the other side of the cover, there is a passage. It warns that the Atlantic puffin is “highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change such as sea temperature rise and shifts in prey distribution,” which threatens the food sources puffins rely on. The passage continues, noting that puffins are “vulnerable to oil spills and other marine pollution… susceptible to being caught in gillnets,” and are “hunted for human consumption in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.” These effects are especially concerning, given that the Icelandic shelf is one of the most heavily fished regions in the world, with low sustainability estimates due to decades of intensive commercial harvesting.5 

Spread with an illustration of a man climbing a mountainside while holding a lifeless puffin. On the right, a close-up photograph of an Atlantic puffin with a tag tied to its foot, resting on a dark background with faint text.

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A spread with a small illustration of a man climbing a mountainside while holding a lifeless puffin. On the right, a full-color illustration of a standing Atlantic puffin set against a pale background with text tag folded away.

Conclusion:

 In Lundi, there are intentionally very few, if any, sunny images. By focusing on clouds, fog, and wind, van Coller creates a sense of urgency, emphasizing that if humans do not change their current actions, there will be significant consequences. At the same time, van Coller shifts his tone from urgency to calm in the final pages of Lundi, suggesting a moment of reflection amidst the ongoing crisis. In those pages, the sun is setting: not in a dramatic way, but in a subtle way. Van Coller leaves the viewer with a sense of hope: that if we take real steps to address climate change, puffins will not just be just a “record”; they can still survive. While the two pages I focus on do not capture the full impact of Lundi, they reflect the book’s central message: if we do not acknowledge the reality of global warming, many species like the Atlantic puffin will be lost. 

spread with a wide view of the open ocean, with the horizon stretching across the center. a grassy cliff edge juts in frame, with a pair of puffins perched near the edge, looking out over the water.
Spread with a photograph on the right page, showing a grassy hill covered in wildflowers overlooking the ocean. Two puffins stand near the horizon, framed by pastel clouds as the sun sets.
a wide view of the ocean, the horizon stretching across the center of the page. A thin strip of golden light cuts through the overcast sky, just above the distant waterline.

Footnotes

  1. Lilly Brogger, “Ian van Coller Photographs the Effects of Climate Change,” Montana State University Exponent, April 28, 2016. ↩︎
  2. Falk Huettmann, Torben Riehl, and Karin Meißner, “Paradise Lost Already? A Naturalist Interpretation of the Pelagic Avian and Marine Mammal Detection Database of the IceAGE Cruise off Iceland and Faroe Islands in Fall 2011,” Environmental Systems and Decisions 36 (2016): 45–61. ↩︎
  3. Ian van Coller, “About Lundi,” Ian van Coller: Photographer, accessed May 8, 2025, https://www.ianvancoller.com/about-lundi. ↩︎
  4. Robert T. Barrett, Erlend B. Nilsen, and Tycho Anker-Nilssen, “Long-term Decline in Egg Size of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica Is Related to Changes in Forage Fish Stocks and Climate Conditions,” Marine Ecology Progress Series 457 (2012): 1–10. ↩︎
  5. Huettmann et al., “Paradise Lost Already?” ↩︎