BIRDSCAPE (with Jeroen van Westen) 2000, Pavillons Gallery, Almere, Netherlands

Eight speakers – four near the ceiling and four on the ground – create a three-dimensional avian soundscape. In the center of the four ceiling speakers, a surveillance camera communicates with the computer regarding numbers of visitors and the speed of their movements. Stand perfectly still – or move very slowly – and the sounds of birds recorded in a nearby Forest will be heard. Move quickly, and they will silently fly away. Thus, BIRDSCAPE invites the visitor to listen to birds much as we listen outdoors, and to choreograph our own avian “butoh dance” of sound. By exploring such a conversation with nature in the context of extinction, extant birds become a mnemonic device for remembrance.