dId you hear the sound of birds?
For one week, beginning on November 11th 2019, bird sounds found their way into the Reid Building at The Glasgow School of Art.
Fleeting, with the familiarity of the everyday, but the dissonance of the displaced, these #Birdscapes are designed to play with and examine the existing soundscape of this working building, highlighting the complex and unexpected movements of sound around the space.
The other sounds of the Reid may drown them out, or a shrill tweet might cut through the ambient sound to catch your attention.
Native bird sounds are captured, programmed and amplified to bring a new chorus to the day, changing over the course of week. The sounds might provide intrigue, offer a moment of calm, they may confuse, or delight.
Why? - you ask
A flock of coincidences.
After a chance use of recorded birdsong as a sound test on the top floor was heard in unexpected locations throughout the Reid Building, BirdScapes seeks to deliberately and positively engage with the complex acoustics of the building, using the often unexpected flow of sound to playfully link spaces.
Woodland sounds, including birdsong, are proven to have benefits to wellbeing, including in recovery from everyday psychological stress, having ‘perceived restorative potential’.
This work builds on Digger’s previous collaborative work SoundScrapers (with Hector McInnes and Whitewave), which sampled the sounds of nature, capturing the resulting noises within bespoke, portable, waterproof objects, able to be transported into alternative bringing together the sounds of a variety of location into a new collective soundscape.
When might i hear the birds?
Monday 11th November, bookending core hours.
Tuesday 12th November, bookending core hours, lunchtime, and before the building closes.
Wednesday 13th November, it will be a surprise (never longer than 60seconds at a time).
Thursday 14th November, every hour on the hour.
Friday 15th November, repeat of Tuesday.
Feedback
Tweet or instagram using #BirdScapes
Fire an email to contact@exactplace.org
Write a wee note on a poster kicking about the Reid
Fill out the contact forM here.
