Eco-Opera is an evolving body of work that transforms environmental sound into immersive installations. Wild birds, sculptural instruments and listening devices reveal the music already present in the landscape.
Watch the short film
Gallery & Museum Installations
Eco-Opera can be presented in several different ways, from a multi-screen exhibition to live installations outside the gallery.
Beautifully filmed over many days and weeks, Eco-Opera combines intimate wildlife cinematography with immersive spatial sound in single- or multi-screen installations. As visitors move through the gallery the balance between different sound sources and landscapes varies. No two listening positions are quite the same.
Bespoke bird-instruments are installed throughout the surrounding landscape. High-tension wires, bird-activated string instruments, sonic tubes, contact microphones and ambient microphones continuously collect the sounds of birds, wind and weather, transmitting them directly into the gallery.
Inside, a multi-channel sound system outputs an immersive soundscape. Visitors observe the outdoor installation through gallery windows using binoculars and restored vintage telescopes, gradually discovering that every sound is being generated live by the environment.
Real-time camera feeds are added to the outdoor instruments. Large-scale projections reveal extraordinary close-up views of the birds as they perform, allowing visitors to experience every landing, movement and interaction in remarkable detail while hearing the sounds they create.
Gardens, Parks & Festivals
Eco-Opera can be experienced entirely outdoors. Sounds from the bird-instruments are heard through a series of acoustic and solar-powered listening points distributed throughout the landscape.
Graeme arrives on the opening day of the festival and, with the help of volunteers and festival-goers, installs long-wire instruments and bird feeder trays throughout the woodland. Over the following days the instruments gradually come to life as birds begin to play them. Visitors discover listening points hidden amongst the trees while the forest slowly fills with the subtle, ever-changing sounds of a living bird orchestra.
The installation is created before opening, allowing visitors to experience Eco-Opera as a temporary seasonal exhibition over several weeks or months. Long-wire instruments and discreet listening points are woven through the landscape, inviting people to slow down, wander and listen.
As birds gradually discover and play the instruments, the garden develops its own ever-changing soundscape. Each visit is different, shaped by the time of day, the weather and the activities of the local bird population, transforming familiar landscapes into living musical environments.
Development is underway to bring Eco-Opera into the heart of the city. Using state-of-the-art bone-conduction listening stations and Vibraphonic panels, visitors will discover intimate listening spaces where the sounds of bird-instruments can be experienced without adding to the surrounding noise. The project aims to create quiet moments of connection with the natural world in even the busiest urban environments.
