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Time:
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Running times:
Monday - Saturday:
11.00, 12.00, 13.00 – dawn chorus
14.00, 15.00, 16.00 – dusk chorus
Sundays:
14.00; 14.45 – dawn chorus
15.30; 16.15 – dusk chorus
Reception:
Thursday 6 March 18.00-20.00
Live performance:
Thursday 6 March 20.30-21.00
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Cost:
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Free
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A major new work by renowned sound recordist Chris Watson invites visitors to the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens to experience the extraordinary soundtrack of the South American rainforest diffused through the tropical foliage of this enclosed botanical environment, which is home to over 2,000 flowers and plants.
At hourly intervals throughout the day, a surprising and dynamic surround soundscape of dawn and dusk choruses will be transmitted for a 15–20 minute duration, approximately the time taken in the rainforest for the transitions from darkness into light, and from daylight to dark.
Shifting between the musicality of primate calls and birdsong and backed with the shimmering wall of insect sounds, Watson's sound mixes are derived from an extensive archive of wildlife and field recordings made on location in the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. An unseen soundscape of thousands of species including black howler and spider monkeys, tree frogs, cicadas, and diverse birdlife, communicates a myriad of information; as these calls, voices and other sounds are transmitted back and forth, as each creature broadcasts its presence to others.
Watson's installation, set amongst the tropical foliage of the Winter Gardens, takes us momentarily to a place full of marvels, where we often fear to tread.
A captivating sensory experience, the work is a remarkable demonstration ofthe power of sound recordings and natural history broadcast to transporus to far flung, inaccessible and often extraordinary locations.
Whispering in The Leaves, Chris Watson. Photo: Sean Thamer
Live Performance
On Thursday 6 March Chris Watson will perform a live sound mix in which recordings of a three or four hour period across late afternoon, sunset and into the night will be compressed into around twenty minutes. Featuring recordings of a tropical thunderstorm and ending with the deep, lush sounds of the nocturnal insect chorus, the performance will create an intense auditory narrative for the audience.
Produced by Forma
FREE, but limited capacity. Bookings through AV Festival box office.
Sound clips
Black Howler Monkeys
Forest Ambience
Tropical Frog Chorus
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