Brother Joseph has done some terrific work in Australia. One work he began fairly early on was inspired by the Bellbirds, whose unique "ping" call we all encountered at one point or another on the Far South Coast (specifically, at our first field location at Pambula Lake, near the town of Eden). The work has developed into a sound installation, utilizing paper coffee cups collected throughout our travels in Australia. Below is Joseph's statement, along with his recording of the Bellbird calls and supporting images.
Bellbirds
Bell Miners live in communal groups in the forests of southeastern Australia. They establish territories in which they feed on the honeydew secretions of insects that, in turn, feed on eucalyptus sap. Many of the forests are managed by the timber industry, which periodically thins sick, small, or malformed trees from the ecosystem. Due to the culling of trees, the forest fails to support the diversity of insect and animal life that a mature forest would normally sustain.
As trees are removed from the forest, the timber industry ships them to Japan to be processed into paper, which then returns to Australia in the form of consumer goods.
Bellbirds recreates the birds’ natural habitat through a collection of coffee cups and sound installation, which will ultimately allow for audience interaction with the piece. The variously branded cups are evidence of the diversity of businesses offering society caffeinated beverages, while the paper from which the cups are made suggests the plethora of trees absent from the forest. A recording of the bird’s intermittent calls emanates from the cups. As viewers enter the space, they trigger the birds to defend their forest from intruders, leading to a crescendo of sound. The installation maintains the frequency and intensity of the bird calls for the period of time that the viewers remain in front of the piece, only returning to the original intervals of bird calls and silence after the audience has left the immediate area.
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