Afterglow
2026

Afterglow – Only What Is Lost Is Ours Forever

Afterglow gives a voice to the overlooked species of Danish nature — species that very few people know.

Drawing on the Danish Red List and in collaboration with the museum’s researchers, artist Signe Klejs has selected and portrayed 24 species — in sand. The sand portraits are presented as unique video works, experienced on a large scale throughout the exhibition, where the species emerge — and slowly disappear again.

At the same time, a number of threatened or extinct species are on display. A few are widely known — but the vast majority remain unfamiliar to the general public.

“Most species disappear without anyone noticing. The stork has its own association, individual birds are given names and are almost personally guarded, but when small beetles, butterflies, fungi, or flowers disappear, only a handful of experts notice it — and grieve inwardly,” says Morten D.D. Hansen, former museum curator and academic consultant on the exhibition.

At Naturhistorisk Museum in Aarhus, we believe that together we can improve the world — and that it all begins with the language we use about nature:

“We need to know that these species exist, we need to get to know them better, and we need to understand that they are now disappearing — because you cannot protect something if you do not know that it exists.”
— Signe Klejs

Special thanks to Ditte Zebitz for filming and post-producing the 24 portraits; to Rasmus Meiner Folke Fleppe for the delicate soundscape; to Morten D.D. Hansen for the beautiful exhibition texts; and to Pia Piilgaard for colouring the sand.
You can experience Afterglow until January 3, 2027.

Thank you for the invitation Naturhistorisk Museum Aarhus. The exhibition has been developed with support from the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, Aarhus Stiftstidende’s Foundation, and the NOJ Foundation. Huge thanks for their support.