What does Blackpool sound like in 2011? and The Shadow Inside are the result of a commission by The Grundy Art Gallery to create a soundtrack that represents Blackpool culture in 2011.

Over 5 days in November and December, I worked with three community groups to capture sound recordings, including interviews with residents, shop owners, the sound of the pier, arcades, music, the zoo, the market and much more.

The Shadow Inside is a piece written by Barry McCann. It was recorded at the highest point in the Grundy Art Gallery.

Both soundtracks will be exhibited for the public in March 2012, venue TBC.

Listen to What does Blackpool sound like in 2011? 6.38 mins

The Shadow Inside, 1.41 mins

The Seals at Donna Nook are important to wildlife watchers around the UK and Europe, attracting 40,000  visitors to the Lincolnshire coast each year. More than half of the worlds grey seal population lives and breeds around the UK coast. The largest populations are found at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, on the Farne Islands, the Cornish coast and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

Despite a large group of visitors I was able to record the sound of the seals and their young, as they were positioned very close to the shore line, (females or ‘cows’ give birth between September and November). The equipment I used to capture the recordings was an omni-directional microphone and a parabolic dish, the dish was particularly helpful to focus and amplify the sounds of the seals in such a tourist- heavy environment. On the soundtrack (below) the sound of two male (bull) grey seals can be heard in an aggressive attack (bear in mind they are the largest mammals found in the UK), whilst the haunting cries of a seal pup yelps at its mother for more milk (they can drink up to 3 litres in a day). More than 1,000 seal pups have been born at Donna Nook this year.

Listen to Donna Nook seals 2011, approx 2 minutes

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The artists at Wright Studio (based at Faircharm Industrial Estate, off Evelyn Drive), exhibited work created at the studio (including work in progress) at The Exchange Bar in Leicester… since then there have been discussions for the group to exhibit at the bar on a regular basis.  As part of the exhibition I decided to exhibit Feeding Frenzy and Baguette Microphone.

Baguette Microphone at the Exchange bar

Artist from Wright studios exhibit at the Exchange bar

Feeding Frenzy exhibited at the Exchange bar

What is WEYA?

World Event Young Artists is the very first event of its kind to take place. It is an exciting occasion bringing together and celebrating the talent and artistic excellence of young people from across the globe. In September 2012 World Event for Young Artists [WEYA] will bring a staggering 1,000 young artists (18 – 30 years) from 120 nations to Nottingham. More info

For all artworks, soundtracks and statements entered for WEYA please view my profile on Axis, the online resource for contemporary art.

Proposal to WEYA (200 word limit)

This proposal is for four art/sound installations based on the social and flocking behaviour of pigeons, whilst investigating the historic and current relationship with humans. Each piece was created using found objects and pigeon-related items. The sound installations contain recordings from pigeons eating bread, a pigeon auction and the sound of Thai whistles attached to flying pigeons. The End of the Line, interprets information based on the messages delivered by pigeons during the Franco-Prussian War. Egg Box Messages is a tribute to the pigeon Cher Ami, who saved the lives of the Lost Battalion during WWI. To support Cornell Science Laboratory with research into feral pigeon behaviour, I have monitored and fed a group of pigeons for a year. Feeding Frenzy uses bread and seed on light sensitive paper to create eight prints, accompanied by a recording taken from a microphone hidden inside a loaf of bread. A pound of pigeon uses bird grit to demonstrate the average weight of a pigeon, positioned in the topological distance model to represent a flock of birds. The pigeon feathers; in a ‘V’ shape, show the wings when at their highest point, in relation to its flushing distance (how close one can get to a bird before it flies off.)

My reason’s for applying for WEYA

To be involved in a high profile arts event, that will provide a platform to raise my profile, and showcase a series of new sound installations, created in 2011 to the East Midlands and beyond. To build creative networks with talented practitioners from across the UK, that are using innovative and inspiring methods of working. The opportunity to engage in creative dialogue and broaden my knowledge will enrich my practice, enabling my work and professional development to flourish at an international level.

All successful applicants will be notified in February… fingers and toes crossed!

Wander around the maze of walk ways rather than catching a water bus

Ive never been to Venice or the Biennale, so this seemed like the perfect trip for a break and inspiration! Arriving into Venice on Sunday just after midnight I was surprised by how quiet and calm the narrow walk ways and water ways were. The hotel we had booked was closed and the lady running it refused to come and let us in (cow), so we had to find and pay for another hotel for the night. Admittedly not the best start but the next day the sun was shining and even though the Biennale was closed today, there was still plenty for us (me and my friend Nic), to explore. We jumped on a water bus and found a cafe close to the Giardini, had coffee and fed biscuits by hand to pigeons and sparrows. Wandered through the walk ways and the market, found the Piazza San Marco and was completely stunned as we turned a corner to see the St Mark’s Basilic.  We went up the 323 ft St Mark’s Campanile and grabbed a pizza roll and some beer from the local supermarket.

On Tuesday we went to the Arsenal district and the Giardini and went around the WHOLE exhibition! We were exhausted but it was worth it!  Talk about art fatigue!

The three highlights for me were Mike Nelson‘s large scale installation, Impostor at the British Pavilion. He spent three months transforming the British pavilion in Venice for the biennale. The resulting installation is a delicate and melancholic meditation on identity and historical memory. More info.

Christian Boltanski‘s installation Chance at the French pavilion. This exhibition playfully explores the luck and fate of newborns, whose beginnings are subject entirely to chance. While the title translated in french has a positive connotation of luck and good fortune, the english interpretation conversely suggests hazard or risk, rendering the exhibition appropriately ambiguous. More info.  Watch a video of the installation here on designboom.

Fernando Prats‘ Sismografias project at the Chilean Pavilion. Fernando effectively stones his paintings, he lets the branches whip them or that the doves leave the marks of the flapping of their wings on them; the photographs of his work process reveal that he even licks the smoke cured surface of the paintings in order to leave enigmatic traces, or that even worms “draw” fascinating labyrinthical lines on the fertile territory of this other incarnation of painting. More info.

Tumble, Multi-channel audio installation for racing pigeons by Matt Lewis

A great exhibition based on pigeon flight patterns by artist Matt Lewis at The Pigeon Wing, in the Guild House on Rollins Street, London. I met Matt who was kind enough to show me and fellow sound artist Esther around the exhibition and even took us onto the roof of the exhibition space to meet the pigeons responsible for creating his latest body of work.

Following his state side residency at Diapason, New York, Matt Lewis is producing a generative multi-channel audio installation for carrier pigeons. This project explores pigeon racing culture, multi-channel audio performance and notions of musical score.

Text from The Pigeon Wing Gallery: We currently have racing pigeons on The Pigeon Wing roof, Matt Lewis is training them ready for flights later this month. During the two weeks that the installation runs in the gallery space, the pigeons will be fitted with GPS tracking devices and released from various locations around city and will fly back to their loft above the gallery space. The flight routes – tracked by GPS – will form the musical structure of the piece, with the coordinates of their flight, airspeed and distance defining which audio material is triggered, all audio will be drawn from environmental recordings made from the gallery roof. The audio will be in multi-channel with 4.1 separate audio channels. Also displayed will be a visual score generated from the flight information, forming a composition of the birds’ performance in retrospect. This score will be performed by musicians on 15th Oct. In addition to the installation there will be screenings of documentaries on pigeon culture. This project was made possible with the support of Diapason Gallery, New York.

I have a studio space at Wright Studios in Leicester.  I moved in mid October and am very lucky to have such a nice, talented bunch of artists around me.

Here’s what it looks like so far …

I’m hoping to use it to experiment with found objects, to record and play back sound recordings (lucky fellow artists!) and also as an installation space.

Since returning from a month-long residency in France (April), I’ve been thinking of ways to develop the ideas and techniques used to create sound installation The End of the Line. Most of the studio work was based on the interpretation of data, listing carrier pigeons successful and failed attempts at delivering messages during the Franco-Prussian War (pigeon post into Paris).

I’ve been using the project space at the Great Central Gallery in Leicester between July – September to create installations/experiments that analyse the social and flocking behaviour of pigeons, using scientific theories and models, whilst examining our current relationship with pigeons. I’ve been experimenting with creating installations using sound recordings taken from pigeon lofts and fanciers, using found objects and pigeon-related items (bird grit, pigeon feet, whole pigeon wings and feathers).

A pound of pigeon uses bird grit to demonstrate the average weight of a pigeon, positioned in the shape of the topological distance model to represent a flock of birds. The pigeon feathers; in a ‘V’ shape, show the wings when at their highest point, in relation to the flushing distance model (how close one can get to a bird before it flies off.)

Alex and Ian from Project Pigeon invited me to talk about my art practice and my current projects inspired by pigeons, at The New Art Gallery Walsall. I spoke about my fascination with the group of feral pigeons at a canal in Leicester, Don’t Shoot the Messenger sound walk, Project Pigeon, an artist residency in France inspired by the Pigeon Post into Paris during the Franco Prussian War and the recent experiments with pigeons and nature print paper and a baguette microphone.

Project Pigeon will be organising a series of pigeon-related events over the coming weekends at the gallery including:

Sat 10 Sept, 11am – 5pm: An exhibition of over 50 breeds of pigeon.

Sat 17 Sept, 11am – 5pm: A free film screening of pigeon-related movies, including artist Lyndall Phelps’ ‘Pigeon Archive’, footage from a camera attached to a pigeon.

Sat 24 Sept, 11.30am – 4pm: An auction day of racing pigeons and a pigeon release from the gallery terrace at 3.30pm. See www.project-pigeon.co.uk for further info.

The half-baked baguette worked as a perfect host for my NT55 Rode microphone. Previous recordings of pigeons at the canal had been distorted due to the loud sounds coming from the nearby factory and also the canal, in particular the weir.

The pigeons took a little coaxing, (there was already a pile of bread crumbs left by someone else to compete with!) to feed off the baguette microphone, but once they started it was a challenge to get them to stop and they quickly found the microphone.

I wanted to record the sounds of pigeons feeding and was inspired by Chris Watson, at a course organised by Wild Eye. He spoke about his time in the dessert recording the sound of vultures feeding off a dead zebra carcass and how he had successfully added a microphone to the skeleton.

I walk along the canal and see the pigeons everyday, if they have been left food they tear it apart, so it is more manageable to eat, by flinging it with their beaks, fighting off seagulls and other birds. I wanted to record this intimate sound, but what I got was a muffled recording. The hum of the factory, the occasional snort, squeak and wing flap from a pigeon, but mainly an aggressive pecking which sounded like an attack on the microphone.  This wasn’t the best way to record pigeons feeding, the microphone had an omni-directional head on it, so no matter where the pigeon was feeding from, its ‘peck’ could be heard.  Perhaps next time I need to use a clip tie microphone attached to the baguette or make a frame for it to sit in above the bread to be able to take a more realistic and clear recording.

Listen to baguette microphone approx 2.30 mins

There’s still bread crumbs dotted around the house after this experiment. I made a trail of bread crumbs from the bottom of the stairs to the toilet seat in our house. If I had a studio space this is the kind of experiment that would happen there.

I’m interested in using food that would usually be throw for the pigeons. I’ve seen people throw down whole carrier bags of bread at the canal, I’ve also recently seen more rats lurking.

There’s a few ideas for projects involving pigeons, paint, sun print paper, bread, seed, fans, projections, whistles, monitors and video that I want to try out.

I drove to the canal to have a go at the sun print paper idea.

I wanted to use a different method to document feeding the pigeons, so I used sun print paper (or nature print paper). The paper is coated with light sensitive chemicals that react when exposed to light. When solid objects are placed on the paper, they block the light and turn white, while the paper around them remains blue. To encourage the pigeons to stand on the paper and essentially make their mark, I covered the paper with bread and seed. It wasn’t hard to encourage the pigeons to feed off the paper, as this is the same group of birds I usually feed every Wednesday for Project Pigeon Watch (gathering one year’s worth of data on pigeon colour morphs and courtship behaviour, to produce a sound composition). I drove to the canal so that I could use the boot of my car as a processing area. It had a tray of water that was used to ‘fix’ the image after approx 1 minute exposure to sunlight.

Its been just over two months since my return from France as part of an artist residency at CAMAC (centre for art, science and technology). I stayed in the rural and remote surroundings of the Champagne region for a month and developed three audio- visual installations: ‘The End of the Line’, ‘Egg Box Messages’ and ‘Under the Seine’. All three pieces would not have been possible if I hadn’t been given a fantastically large studio to myself where I was able to make lots of noise, record sound and play it back (very loudly).

The Great Central Gallery: Time and space to reflect, develop ideas and create practical work without distraction.

Since I’ve been back in Leicester I have been trying to recreate the studio environment I had at CAMAC. The Great Central Gallery have been kind enough to let me use their gallery space (during change over periods), although I’ve only used this space twice, it has allowed me the time to reflect on the work created at CAMAC, to listen to sound recordings and visualise ideas in a practical way, that I find impossible at home. There are a number of studio spaces in Leicester, including The Great Central Gallery, Knighton Lane artists group, The Attic, LCB Depot and Fabrika. CUSP are an artist collective made up of DMU Fine Art graduates, who will be opening a new artist-led gallery and studios in the Highcross, I’m hoping to have a space in the CUSP studios when they open in August.

Exploring different approaches to adapt 'The End of the Line' to ensure it can be installed into any space.

A weekend trip to Glasgow to catch up with a friend, check out the West End Festival and take another look at the British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet (I first saw it in Nottingham). The British Art Show is widely recognised as the most ambitious and influential exhibition of contemporary British art… so well worth a second look in my opinion, as well as the other independent art galleries/exhibitions.  The Glue factory on Garscube Industrial Estate, was transformed to host the Glasgow School of Art Degree show.  Dark corners were lit up with ‘floating’ video projections, some silent, some with sound, showing vibrant, odd contemporary dance/performance on a beach and close ups of tin foil.  A few sound pieces dotted here and there- actually in a separate room- behind a wall, on a bench (triggered by the movement of the viewer) and from a box (triggered when the lid was lifted).

Douglas Gordon 'Scratch Hither', 2002 (DVD on monitor)

The Common Guild was the first venue I arrived at after flying into Glasgow at 8am.  I arrived at 21 Woodlands Terrace (I found out later that this is actually Douglas Gordon’s house- one of my favourite artists!) at 9am, but the sign on the door said the gallery didn’t open until 12pm. Bugger.  But it didn’t matter because I was welcomed in (from the rain) by Kitty, a member of staff who very kindly let me dry off in the office, while looking through magazines and helping me plan my tour of Glasgow galleries over the weekend.

The exhibition was booted up (lots of monitors and projections) and I was told I could wander around with my tea- now that’s customer service and a great show it was.

“You seem the same as always, -” brings together a range of works by international and Glasgow-based artists, which share a very particular focus: that of the artist’s own hand. The exhibition includes film, video, photography, prints, drawings and objects, all of which share a refreshing sense of immediacy and directness and vary from the witty to the uncanny.

Claire Barclay, Katie Davis, Olafur Eliasson, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Douglas Gordon, Gabriel Orozco, Yvonne Rainer, Richard Serra and David Shrigley.

Olafur Eliasson 'The Moving Museum, 2009 (3 DVD projections on wooden table)

BAS7 was exhibited across three venues in Glasgow, including the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Gallery of Modern Art and Tramway.  Here’s a few of my favourites…

Centre for Contemporary Arts: Christian Marclay, The Clock (2010)

Centre for Contemporary Arts

Christian Marclay’s The Clock, features thousands of found film fragments of clocks, watches, and characters reacting to a particular time of day. These are edited together to create a 24 hour-long, single-channel video that is synchronised with local time. As each new clip appears a new narrative is suggested, only to be swiftly overtaken by another. Watching, we inhabit two worlds; that of fiction and that of fact, as real-time seconds fly inexorably by.

Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA): Haroon Mirza, Regaining a degree of control (new work created for BAS7)

Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)

Haroon Mirza’s complex audio-visual installations are assembled out of domestic furniture, electronic equipment and lights. Regaining a Degree of Control, a new work created for BAS7, uses previously unseen footage of Ian Curtis, frontman for the post-punk band Joy Division.

Curtis’s song ‘She’s Lost Control’ concerns a girl with epilepsy, a condition that Curtis himself suffered from and to which the strobe light in Mirza’s installation refers. Here, as in much of Mirza’s work, the central proposition is about transforming noise into sound, and making hearing and listening as important and relevant as seeing and looking. His aim is to ‘explore visual and acoustic space as one sensorial mode of perception.’

Tramway: Luke Fowler and Toshiya Tsunoda, Composition for Flutter Screen, 2008

Tramway

Luke Fowler and Toshiya Tsunoda ‘Composition for Flutter Screen’, 2008.  Installation with 16mm colour film and projector, homemade screen, timer, wire, fans, lights.

This sculptural installation features a flimsy handmade screen which is subjected to a series of interventions.  Fixed images – a moth, a meniscus, a candle flame – projected onto it are caused to move because the screen itself is in constant motion, blown about by electric fans.  From time to time, bright light and amplified sound interrupt the choreographed flow of the work, revealing the mechanisms of its illusions.

I have spent a month at CAMAC (art, science, technology organisation), based in Marnay-sur-Seine, as part of an artist residency programme.  As a result I have created 3 new sound installations, inspired by the pigeon post into Paris.  Developed from a series of experimental studio works, all 3 sound installations were shown as part of the Open studio event at CAMAC on 28 April.

Marnay-sur-Seine is rural and remote and CAMAC is positioned with the River Seine on one side and a transport canal on the other.  Every morning I was woken by a chorus of birds and the first chime of the day by the church bell.  At dusk a chorus of frogs could be heard from the River Seine.  Ive kept a blog to document my time at CAMAC and will use the new sound installations to fuel further work now that Im back in Leicester… all I need now is a studio space!

*UPDATE: Unfortunately all 5 pinhole cameras were removed while I was away in France, so I was unable to capture any images from the cameras.

Ive made 5 pinhole cameras from beer cans and attached them to locations at the canal (near the Rally park), in Leicester.  These ‘cameras’ contain photo paper which will capture an image (long exposure photograph), of all the activity at the canal between Sat 26 March – Sat 30 April. Take a look at Justin Quinnell’s website- he truly is the godfather when it comes to long exposure pinhole photography, some of his work has used pinhole to capture 6 month duration images.

As I will not be in Leicester to feed the pigeons (as part of Project Pigeon Watch), during April, this is one way to see what Ive missed.  Fingers crossed the cameras will survive until I return!

Attenborough Nature Reserve. Image by Simon Cruickshank

Since 2007, I have been making sound recordings using in-ear microphones to produce binaural audio walks and installations.  Since March 2010, Ive been keen to use different methods of recording sound, particularly the sound of birds.  With advice from Wildeye, Jez Riley and the Wildlife Sound Recording Society, I have purchased a parabolic dish from Telinga and a Rode NT55 compact condenser microphone.  The parabolic dish acts as a focal point for sound to be captured by the microphone, it is such a powerful tool for recording bird song that it has been described as making the sound 10 times closer to the person recording the sound.  It is a non- intrusive way of recording birds from a distance, without scaring them away. A parabolic dish is “an acoustical filter, approximately compensating for distance.”

Last weekend I went to several places to test out the recording equipment, including the Attenborough Nature Centre in Nottinghamshire, the canal in Leicester (Rally Park), Watermead Country Park and Bradgate Park.

Here’s some recordings from that weekend:

Attenborough Nature Reserve, with a train track nearby it can be quite noisy, but it was large enough to be able to record some decent bird songs/calls.

Attenborough 1: Approx 2 mins, Celebrating getting the new mic to work, blue tits, geese, horses, a wood pigeon flying past, magpie? and the water lapping at our feet.

Attenborough 2: Approx 1 min and my favourite recording from the day: Blue tits, geese, gulls and mallards!

Contact microphones pick up vibrations, rather than air pressure.  Here is the sound of a contact microphone wrapped around a steel fence that is being pinged and slapped and also the placed on the throat area to pick up the vibrations of the voice box.

Steel smack and throat: Approx 1 min 30 secs

Canal in Leicester (Rally park), a bit dodgy but still one of my favourite places in Leicester.  The recording was distorted because of the sound of the weir and the factory nearby.  Ive not added the recording, as I can barely make out the sound of any wildlife, let alone the pigeons.

Watermead Country Park, a great place for bird watching and not bad for recording sound, although it is positioned next to a dual carriage way, so the sound of traffic can interfere with recordings. Recording coming soon.

Bradgate Park, the biggest park of all the above and the only one with wild deer and a dovecote.  This is where I was able to record the sounds of the birds (and pigeons!) and a bee trying to push its way under the earth. Recording coming soon.

I’m a member of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. The Society welcomes anyone who is interested in or has an appreciation of the sounds made by wildlife. Ive joined to develop a network with other sound artists and to learn which sound recording equipment is best for recording birds.

Roger Charters (another member of WSRS), has had many years experience recording the sounds of wildlife.  He invited me to his house to discuss my interests, share his experiences and pass on some helpful tips and advice on purchasing sound recording equipment.  We went to a nature reserve nearby in Leamington Spa, I used Rogers directional mics (crossed over for a stereo effect) to record the sounds of the birds in the trees.  The batteries on my Marantz recorder ran out, so below is a very short example of some of the recordings!

Camac is an organisation in the rural village of Marnay-sur-Seine in France that hosts an artist residency programme, with the aim to bring together artists from all countries and disciplines in mid or advanced career stages.

I have been offered the opportunity to complete an artist residency at Camac, between 1 – 30 April 2011.  To follow my progress and for more info please visit www.parispigeonpost.wordpress.com

The residency will be used as an opportunity for research and development into the pigeon post into Paris during 1870- 1871.  As part of this investigation I will visit the 11 pigeon contraception houses and Post Museum based in Paris, as well as interview residents and those that continue to break the law by stealthily feeding pigeons at night when no one is looking. Previous research into pigeon intelligence, pigeon fancying and Project Pigeonwatch (a project started in Oct 2010 to capture data on feral pigeon numbers and colour morphs), will act as a catalyst for experimental work in the studio environment of Camac.

The residency will mark a development in my practice as a sound artist by using contact microphones (to record vibrations, for example- bird footsteps, rather than air pressure), hydrophones (to record under water sound) and a parabolic dish, specifically designed for capturing bird song and other wildlife.

Project Pigeon works with pigeons and people to bring about social change.  Alexandra Lockett and Ian England do lots of things with their pigeons, such as run workshops, make musical performances, curate exhibitions and design and build city centre lofts.

I got in touch with Alex and Ian to find out more and visit the loft in Digbeth, Birmingham.  The first Project Pigeon workshop was last Saturday and saw a group of us huddled together around the loft, out of the rain, drinking tea and discussing pigeons.  Pigeon history, pigeon fancying, pigeon racing… and how to cheat.

Two pigeon racers from the club Alex and Ian had recently joined were discussing the numerous methods that can be used to make pigeons fly faster (or at least appear to fly faster), including putting the clock that times the pigeon into the fringe or oven (to slow down or speed up the time) to win a race. There were many other techniques to increase speed and the overall productivity of the racing pigeons, but what struck me the most was just how competitive pigeon racing is.  Pigeon racing club members or committees can decide whether a new member can join based on their track record (for racing pigeons).  If a new member is seen to be joining all the local clubs and winning too many prizes then they can be turned down for membership or the zone for which they live can be altered so that it doesn’t include them.  This may seem unfair or even petty but this attitude is most likely due to the fact that its members are very dedicated and spend a lot of time caring for and training their pigeons.  Some club members do it to win cash prizes, others do it to be involved with the social side.

If you are curious about pigeons and want to learn more come along to the workshops at Digbeth, (run by Alex and Ian- both lovely people!) from now until April on Fridays and Saturdays.

Pigeons are intelligent. They have the ability to ‘home’ and take advantage of feeding opportunities within their environment to survive. The evidence is in the cities thriving pigeon population.

How do pigeons successfully find their way home? There are many explanations including the use of smell, memory, the sun, the roads, landmarks and the earths electromagnetic field, but there is still no hard evidence that one method is better than the other. Could it be that all the theories relating to pigeon navigation are correct, and that pigeons use a combination of (learnt) skills and instinct to guide them on their journey?

I met with lecturer and researcher Dr Mark Haselgrove from the Faculty of Science at Nottingham University, who believes that pigeons use more than one method to navigate.

My research examines the mechanisms and properties of learning in humans and non-human animals. I am particularly interested in understanding how animals attend to and represent stimuli within the world. Most of my research has employed techniques such as appetitive Pavlovian conditioning with rats, and autoshaping with pigeons.

Autoshaping (sometimes called “sign tracking”) is any of a variety of experimental procedures used to study classical conditioning in pigeons. In autoshaping, in contrast to shaping, food comes irrespective of the behavior of the pigeon. Therefore it can be seen as a method of learning, in this experiment a pigeon was placed in a box and presented with an image to respond to and receive food.

Mark Haswell and his colleagues have developed a theory that pigeons have a photographic memory, that can be used to assist with autoshaping. Mark explains that the pigeon can recall the memory of the image (visual stimuli), like a photograph and use to successfully overlay and match up both images.

Autoshaping experiments can include images, colour, words and symbols for example:

Triangle shape image= food

Circle shape image= no food

Card 1- peck

Card 2- do not peck

Pigeons are very good at distinguishing letters, shape and colour to peck at in order to receive food. However, they are not very good at realising abstract shapes, and do not respond as well to sound or smell.

The data I have been collecting from the pigeons at the canal started in Oct 2009, I intend to collect a years worth of data (on numbers and colour morph). During this time I would also like to explore learning and memory in pigeons, by using autoshaping to produce a series of experiments. There are a few ways I could do this- by changing the colour of my coats, by wearing different perfume, by using an object they can associate with being fed and not being fed and exploring the use of different tonal sounds. At the moment the pigeons at the canal associate my green coat and my iphone with being fed.

There are also imitation experiments, including Automatic imitation and Counter imitation.

Humans often engage in automatic imitation without even realising it, when the sight of a friend, relative or a colleague moving in a particular way elicits the same movement in the observer.

In an experiment, budgerigars had to peck or step upon a small button for food reward whilst watching video recordings of another budgerigar either pecking or stepping on the same button. The scientists split the birds into two groups — one in which they were rewarded for imitation, the other in which they were rewarded for counter-imitation.

B.F. Skinner was a American behaviorist, author, inventor, social philosopher and poet.  Skinner invented the operant conditioning chamber, (seen above) innovated his own philosophy of science called Radical behaviorism and founded his own school of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior.

B.F. Skinner trains two pigeons to perform a chain of behaviours for the classroom demonstration.  As a result, pigeons engage in a competition, the so-called ‘Pigeon Ping Pong’ (narrated by B.F. Skinner).

The group capture video and audio recordings of the seal pups on Norfolk beach

The weekend of 11/12 Dec I was in Norfolk recording the sound of the sea, seal pups and a frozen pond, as part of a Wild Eye course. Wild Eye is the International school of Wildlife film-making, offering anyone with an interest in film making and sound recording the opportunity to learn new skills from experts, such as Chris Watson, Jez Riley French and Piers Morgan (the founder of Wild Eye).

The Wildlife sound recording course, was a fantastic opportunity to meet other practitioners working in various fields, using sound as their primary medium.  I signed up to this course to learn about the best methods of practice when recording wild life, in particular birds.

My parabolic reflector

All my soundscapes are recorded via in- ear binaural microphones and the narration via a Sure SM58 microphone. I wanted to get some pr actice using a range of other microphones and equipment. During the course I was able to purchase a parabolic reflector and use it along with Chris Watson’s DPA’s (very nice of him to loan them), to pick up the sounds of the sea, seal pups and a family conversation at Norfolk beach. The reflector had a wire coat hanger attac hed in the centre to hold the two microphones in place, a small piece of cardboard was added to separate the microphones.

The most fascinating field recording session of the weekend was when I tried out my contact microphone, (microphones that pick up audible vibrations), in the garden of Whitwell Hall. Jez Riley French makes the contact microphones, but because of the way in which they are made (small and durable), it means you can have fun and experiment with them. I stayed in the freezing wintry garden for hours to bury mine under the snow, under the mud, a pile leaves, a pile of logs, in a mole hill, wrapped around a tree, suspended around a piece of hazard tape and coiled around a wire fence… of course all these experiments required some sort of movement, so plenty of stamping, tapping and pinging was needed to pick up the vibrations which were then translated into sound.

Contact microphone wrapped around wire fence

Chris Watson’s latest project,  The WIRED Lab uses contact microphones attached to wire structures blown by the wind to create music. Jez Riley French, has a love for creating compositions of audible silence and stillness and makes his own contact microphones to record hidden and over looked sounds.  Chris and Jez played some samples of their work to the group, and provided some useful tips.

1. Atmospheres (also called wild track or buzz track) – this is the foundation of any track and is essentially the ambience of a room/location, it is also crucial for creating any soundtrack. It is important to get the levels right, when playing back to an audience as you want them to lean in and listen rather than play a track that is too loud and forcing them to listen.

Chris usually works with wired dynamic microphones that have metres of cable that can be left outside to record, while he stays inside to listen. This is what he did during the course, which meant that the group were able to hear the wildlife close up, which would have been impossible if we had tried to capture it sitting out in the garden.

2. Habitats Chris told the group a fascinating story about his time in Kenya, where he wanted to record the sounds of vultures eating, so he attached two omni directional microphones to the ribs of a dead zebra, then buried the cable of the wires under the sand and sat and waited for over 5 hours for the vultures to come and feed. His patience paid off, the result is gut wrenching and cringe- worthy but definitely worth a listen.  The track is called Vultures and its available on his album Outside the Circle of Fire.

3. Microphones Chris discussed the three main different types of air pressure microphones with the group, along with polar patterns and editing software.  There were a few items on sale at the course, including second- hand parabolic reflectors. I brought one as I was keen to be able to capture the sound of individual birds, using the reflector, because it instantly turns the microphone into a directional one.  Any microphones can be used with the reflector, including a dynamic microphone, as it has a large output and no hiss, however, it can be heavy due to the magnet inside, so will need to be securely attached to the reflector. The light weight omni directional microphones work very well and also pick up sound from the back of the reflector.

I’m a pigeon fancier in the making, that doesn’t mean I fancy pigeons in some perverted way, it just means that I appreciate and admire them. I like to watch them walk and fly and listen to them coo. As Gary Marsh, a pigeon fancier that owns a pet shop a stones throw away from my house would say ‘They chill you out’.

Gary Marsh with his flock of pigeons

Pigeons are really intelligent. There’s a reason the pigeon population continues to grow and this is because of the increasing amount of feeding opportunities available in the city and because pigeons have great memory and eye sight. If a food stand, restaurant or individual regularly discards food or directly feeds them, they will remember and come back again and again. Perched on the roof tops they can spot a feeding opportunity and because they are social creatures, they share this news with each other, that’s why pigeons usually come in flocks.

Gary has offered me some space to keep my own pigeons

So what has this got to do with art?

At the moment I’m not quite sure but I’m having fun.

Pigeons (especially the feral ones) are easy to spot, unlike other rarer birds on a bird watchers list, pigeon numbers are in abundance.

I’m collecting data every Wednesday morning on pigeon numbers and colour morphs and sharing this with a composer to experiment with producing a musical composition and also with a science lab in New York to support their ongoing research into why pigeons exist in so many colours.

Im attending National Pigeon Association shows in the East Midlands to pick the brains of the most committed pigeon fanciers I can find. I’ve been very lucky to discover that I don’t have to travel to see fancy pigeons, as Gary Marsh who owns a pet shop has a shed full of the things!

I’m off to France for an artist residency at CAMAC, an art, science and technology organisation in April 2011 and intend to use all the data and information gathered this year and leading up to April to support with the production of new work.

At the moment I feel that I want to deepen my knowledge of pigeon fancying and possibly go as far as keeping my own pigeons so that I can develop a relationship with them, to gather sound and video recordings to support the creation of an audio tour or installation. I would also like to explore the possibility of attaching messages, CCTV cameras and GPS tracking devices to pigeons, to build up a visual of where they choose to fly and try to understand how they navigate on long journeys.

More images for Project Pigeonwatch

The National Pigeon Association is the governing body of Fancy Pigeons in Great Britain.  The NPA caters for over 200 varieties of Fancy and Flying Pigeons.  The NPA has a wide variety of fanciers from the very experienced exhibitor to the novice, and are very keen to introduce young people into a rewarding and not necessarily expensive hobby.

I expected the pigeon show in Newark and West Bridgford to be full of men aged between 40 and 60 and I was right. I’ve only been to two pigeon shows and spoken to around 12 people, but have been welcomed into the world of pigeon fancying with open arms.

I admire the men (and the few women) who dedicate their time to this traditional hobby. Its obvious that pigeon fancying requires a huge amount of commitment, with most fanciers getting involved as children and some having kept pigeons for up to as long as 65 years.

Most of the men here today would rather sleep with their pigeons than their wives, that’s how serious and dedicated they are about keeping pigeons! John Elsdon, President of the National Pigeon Association for Great Britain.

I’ve met some of those dedicated men (and women) at the National Pigeon Association (NPA) Championship shows in Newark and West Bridgford.

John Elsdon, President of the NPA

John Elsdon is the president of the NPA of GB.

I’ve kept pigeons for 65 years. I have 100 pigeons that I keep in my garden loft.  Its an important part of my life, I wouldn’t like to work out the amount of hours I’ve put into it.  I don’t just judge shows, I write for a magazine and I’ve done that for many years.

I raced in my early days for 7- 8 years, it was good fun but expensive. There is a racing pigeon club in every town of Britain and can result in winning very big prizes. Its a very thrilling thing to do, to race pigeons, I can say that because I’ve done it. As much as I love these fancy pigeons and showing them I cant say that they make my hair stand on end like it did when I had a pigeon flying 513 miles from the Shetlands to my home.

Christine Right, former secretary of the NPA

Christine Wright is the former secretary of the NPA, she is now retired, but still attends the shows to help out.

I keep Modea pigeons, I have about 80 and show them at the NPA Championship shows.  We (Christine and her late husband) would judge each others birds. He was in to it first and then I followed. You get into the hobby together and you’re never stuck for anything to talk about. We used to have competitions with each other. I sometimes won, but he didn’t like it when I did ha ha haaa! I did enjoy it.

When I got the life membership award from the NPA, I was proud. If I win a class, I take the birds home and tell them how clever they are, because they have stood there all day and looked so proud and won.

David Barraclough, President of the Modea Pigeon club

David Barraclough is the President for the National Modea club.

I keep Modea pigeons, Im showing 73 today. I’ve currently got 5 on victory row (this means that he has 5 pigeons selected and one will win overall best in show).  I first brought my wife a pair of pigeons for her 19^th birthday in 1976. But she wasn’t interested.  She allows me to continue, but as far as she is concerned they are flying rats. Its good in some ways, she has got her own interest and we get on with it.

I’ve only been racing pigeons for 3 years but came 14^th out of 687. The pigeon had to fly 207 miles and won me £210. A racing pigeon is an athlete, you put in a similar food regime as you would an athlete.

Richard Greenwood, pigeon fancier and member of the NPA

Richard Greenwood is a member of the NPA and a keen pigeon fancier.

I have had pigeons for 55 years and been showing for 45 years. I have 400 croppers, both the Spanish and English types. I’ve been awarded best Norwich and Spanish cropper today at West Bridgford’s NPA show.

Its about showing and winning. Coming second doesn’t mean anything, you spend as much time as you need to with them. Its all about regularity. The more you put in, the more you get out.

I’ve been married 40 years, I get 100% support from my wife, it doesn’t always go down well. When your dedicated you need to be a bit selfish. Maybe I should have sometimes put it on the back burner but I haven’t.

Jill Fisher, Pigeon fancier and member of the NPA

Jill Fisher shows as part of J&D Fisher. The ‘D’ stands for David that’s my husband.

Today I’ve won 7 firsts including best in show racers and best opposite sex show racer.  Its very time consuming. We have a loft in the garden that is 31 ft long by 14 ft wide with separate compartments. The birds are cleaned everyday, given a bath every week and given conditioning seeds to keep their feathers in good condition.

Im the brains behind them. I was brought up with pigeons. My father kept pigeons, I was daddy’s little girl and would come with him to shows. I kept my own pet pigeon and showed as a youngster. I stopped showing because of work commitments and then about 11 years ago I started again.

I think you have to be obsessed. You clean, choose, basket and drive to come to the shows with very little financial gain, but they bring so much enjoyment. Its both stressful and relaxing.

Graham Bates, member of NPA management committee

Graham Bates is a judge at today’s NPA in West Bridgford and is a member of the NPA management Committee.

I’ve been involved with pigeons since I was 13 years old (Im 40 now so that’s a long while!) I’ve had experience of racing and fancy pigeons.

I keep 200 pigeons, the blowing types, called pouters. They are the types that hold air in their crop, all pigeons make a cooing sound when the air roles around in the membrane.

I am always trying to promote our hobby, its not everyone’s cup of tea as the public have a perception of pigeons as flying rats or rats with wings. Although pigeons can be very educational and change people’s perceptions. They all descend from the rock dove and people’s perceptions of doves are completely different to that of the pigeon.

Evan Murray, member of NPA management committee

Evan Murray started out as a pigeon fancier and for the last two years has been on the NPA management Committee. He is now a big part of the Nottingham shows and he now looks after the Blackpool show.

I’ve kept pigeons since I was 6 and kept for a total of around 48 years, so its been a life time hobby. I keep the blower breeds, but I’m more interested in the social side than the showing side. I did my showing as a young man.

Im an entertainer, everyone laughs at me because I kiss and cuddle everyone- women, kids, cats and dogs. Its part of the enjoyment, so people are made to feel welcome.

I met my wife through pigeons. I used to fly pigeons with her dad, so I can blame meeting my wife and being happily married for 37 years on falling in love with pigeons!  Winning is nice, we all like to win, but its not the bee all and end all. That’s how I run my life, I try to be nice to everyone. Being well-known and well- liked to me is much more important.

Brian Brook, member of NPA management committee

Brian Brook is a member of the NPA management committee and ex President

I first became interested in pigeons as a child, when my sister gave me two Birmingham Rollers for my 6^th birthday.Birmingham Roller pigeons fly up into the air and perform backward somersaults, the reasons for the rolling isn’t clear but some theories link the ‘performance’ as an epileptic fit.

Many fanciers have very supportive partners, my wife included, who is a judge, specialising in Chinese Owls (a type of fancy pigeon). I don’t know any of my fancier friends whose wife’s are totally dis- interested.

My proudest pigeon moment was winning the Doncaster show and getting best Chinese Owl three years in a row. I just love them, I just love birds. I love pigeons I’m not a rabbit man, my dad was. I’m a pigeon man always have been.

If I’m perfectly honest I think the pigeon fancier is dying out. If we were stood here in ten years, this conversation would not be taking place in the same way, I hope not, but I think that because I’ve seen the decline over the years.

More images for Project Pigeonwatch

Each Wednesday between 8.30am – 9.30am at the Rally Park, near the canal in Leicester I will thrown a small amount of bread for the pigeons and collect data on the following:

• The total number of pigeons
• The number of pigeons of each color morph (I will focus on 7 different colour morphs)
• The number of courting pigeons (and their colour)

I first started to collect data on Wed 13 Oct and will continue until 30 March 2011. Each month I will send this data to the Cornell Science Lab in NY, to support with their research into why pigeons exist in so many colours.  I will also share the data with Alex Patterson, a young and very talented composer based in Nottingham, who will support with the composition and creation of a piece of music using the data by assigning each colour morph with a key (A – G).  The composition will also take inspiration from the French composer and ornithologist   Olivier Messiaen, who was inspired by bird song and Synesthesia, a neurological condition, in one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently coloured.

Colour morph/Key:

Red= A

Checkered= B

Spread= C

Blue bar= D

Red bar= E

White = F

Pied= G

Courting pigeons= two keys will be played together (depending on the colour) or substituted for a sharp/flat key

Data collected so far:

Wed 13 Oct 68 pigeons

Wed 13 Oct

Total number of pigeons= 68

Colour morphs:

Red= 11, Checkered=20, Spread= 12, Blue bar= 20,

Red bar= 2, White = 1, Pied= 2, Courting= 0

Wed 20 Oct 140 pigeons

Wed 20 Oct

Total number of pigeons= 140

Colour morphs:

Red= 10, Checkered= 43, Spread= 70, Blue bar= 6

Red bar= 2, White = 2, Pied= 7, Courting= 0

Wed 27 Oct 112 pigeons

Wed 27 Oct

Total number of pigeons= 112

Colour morphs:

Red= 8, Checkered= 61, Spread= 23, Blue bar= 13

Red bar= 1, White = 1, Pied= 5, Courting= 0

More images for Project Pigeonwatch

Pigeons are all descended from the blue-bar Rock Pigeon, but over hundreds of years pigeons were selectively bred by humans for their colors, homing instincts, or racing abilities. As a result, captive flocks of different-colored pigeons were established all over the world. Eventually, captive birds escaped into the wild to become the feral, common pigeon flocks we see today.

Pigeons have never reverted to the colors of their wild relatives in the Mediterranean and beyond. No other feral animal has kept so many domestic colors for more than a few generations.

Scientists believe there are at least three possible explanations why there are so many colors of pigeons across the world:

1. They don’t have many natural predators in cities.
2. Food is abundant in cities.
3. Assortative mating.

The data that I will collect will help the scientists at the Cornell lab in New York learn:

• why pigeons continue to exist in so many colors
• which color morphs pigeons prefer for mates

More images for Project Pigeonwatch

I’m taking part in Project PigeonWatch for the Cornell lab of Ornithology in New York.

Project PigeonWatch is a citizen science project in which volunteers count pigeons and record the colours of courting pigeons. Pigeon watching can take place anywhere in the world where pigeons gather in flocks, are accustomed to being fed, and have close contact with people. The data reported back to scientists are crucial for this ongoing research, and pigeon watchers, in turn, learn about birds and how science and scientists work at the Cornell lab of Ornithology in NY.

The project helps people learn about the colouration and courtship behaviours of pigeons and tries to understand why pigeons exist in so many colours.

Rather than just gather data on how many pigeons I see and the variations in colour, I will create a map showing pigeon ‘hot-spots’ across Leicester city, capturing data using photography, video and sound recordings.  One day a week, I will feed a group of pigeons that congregate by the canal side at the Rally Park, whilst also investigating where other flocks of pigeons gather for regular feeding opportunities across the city, including interviews with the people that feed them.

Learn more about the Cornell lab of Ornithology are why they are encouraging volunteers to count the different colour morphs and recording the colours of courting pigeons in many different cities to support scientific research.  More images for Project Pigeonwatch

In June 2010, I put on a boiler suit, taped bread to it and let feral pigeons feed of me because I wanted to gather the sounds of the pigeons feeding, using in- ear microphones to produce binaural audio recordings for a sound walk for Wirksworth Festival.

Since this initial event I have started to pin point where pigeons feed within Leicester city and will now be taking part in Project PigeonWatch (to collect data on pigeon courtship and colouration) with the Cornell lab of Ornithology in NY as a volunteer, but also looking for locations in which to feed pigeons using the ‘bread suit’, working in collaboration with Stephen Lynch photography to produce a series of images for video and stop frame animation works.

French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot first solo exhibition in the UK at the Barbican, takes the form of a walk-though aviary for a flock of 40 zebra finches, furnished with bass guitars and Gibson Les Paul electric guitars as perches, and cymbals as feeders containing water and seeds. As the birds go about their routine activities, plucking strings and pecking cymbals, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a random and captivating live soundscape.

The above exhibition and the fact that finches played an important role in the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, inspired me to get my own finches.

I’ve had two male zebra finches since April 2010. They sit in their cage in my bedroom and are let out to investigate about 4 times a week, so much so that they have commandeered my bedroom light as their own. They regularly perch on my bedroom light and try to make a nest using torn up strips of newspaper from their cage- so far they have failed miserably. They also like to have a game of dares where each bird will fly as close to the window as possible (without hitting it) and fly back to the light… they also like to have flying routines or patterns where they fly from a light to the top of the wardrobe to my dressing table and then to the clock- starting again, whilst racing each other and knocking things over.

These birds are originally from central Australia and make the sound of a squeaky toy, so make a perfectly annoying alarm clock as soon as the sun comes up.

They are fascinating to watch and their calls are very infectious, often with friends repeating a song back to them. Finches find it emotionally rewarding to sing to female finches. After I purchased these two finches (still nameless but with many suggestions- daffy and squeak being amongst the list), I went back to the pet shop to record the remaining finches- which just happened to be two female finches. I played the recording back to the male finches to see what there reaction would be and to see if they would sing back to the recording.

Im not sure if I will ever know if this was an emotionally rewarding experience for the finches or just a form of torture? However, since the recordings were played to the finches they have been preparing the house that they sleep in at night by tearing newspaper and making a comfortable nesting area. The two males have also established their position- with one as the ‘hunter- gatherer’, in this case the one that tears the newspaper and makes the nest and gets to eat first and the other which also happens to be slightly smaller in size has taken on the less dominant role, spending his time close to the house/nest and following the dominant male when let out of the cage.

I will document their behaviour via video, photography and sound recordings.

I seem to have gone through a transitional stage with my practice. Finally I have had the chance to stand back and take a look (or rather a listen), to the past few soundscapes I’ve created… and it surprised me just how ‘safe’ they had become. I should have realised there was something not quite right when I was struggling to produce sound walks and installations through a complete lack of creativity and imagination. I literally had nothing left and was desperately seeking inspiration… but as any creative person will tell you its impossible to force creativity, and when you do the results are disappointing and transparent.

In May I applied to UK Young Artists to produce a soundscape for Derby city, (a work in progress), based on the Don’t Shoot the Messenger concept (A site specific guided binaural audio walk inspired by the adaptation of one of the most common ‘city birds’- the feral pigeon.)  In September I was selected, based on the proposal I had submitted. However, the Don’t Shoot the Messenger concept had developed and I was looking to re- work a series of experimental works, such as Bread Suit to present as a video installation. Unfortunately UKYA were only interested in showing the initial proposal, which meant I had to make a difficult decision and not take part in the event. This decision was based on the foresight that the work that still needed to be done for the sound walk, would not be complete to a standard I would be happy with. I wouldn’t have been comfortable showcasing a new sound walk to a national audience, that I didn’t feel represented my practice and my passion for recording city soundscapes.

Flock is an origami bird installation consisting of 300 white swans, ducks and pigeons.  It was installed with the support of the young curators on Friday 10 September and exhibited as part of Wirksworth Festival on Sat 11 and 12 September, 12.30- 4.30pm at Wirksworth teaching pool.  A soundtrack accompanied the installation, created from several binaural audio recordings taken from Watermead Country Park in Leicestershire at 4am, when attending a dawn chorus to celebrate the return of hundreds of migratory birds.

The young curators made origami birds to float into the water and also decided where some of the birds would go, and helped attach to the wall and changing room as part of the installation.

Listen to flock

The birds were nailed into the wooden beams running across the ceiling and into the wall, window sills and changing rooms.  Visitors were invited to make their own origami bird to launch into the pool and were also able to swim amongst the birds.  The exhibition had around 240 visitors of all ages.

A selection of visitor comments:

I think that it is really fun!

I like the sounds.

Love it- George

Adam and Jack.

I think that it is very clever.

Its good- Josh.

I like it- Phoebe 

Free/Serenity and good fun.

This was brilliant- Emily

Listen to Don’t Shoot the Messenger

All tracks have been recorded using in- ear microphones to produce binaural audio recordings and need to be Listened to with stereo headphones.

Track 1 (4.45 mins)

Track 2 (6 mins)

Track 3 (2.30 mins)

Track 4 (3.30 mins)

To download all tracks onto an mp3 player please go to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress.com

As part of the commission for the Wirksworth young curators, I will produce ‘Stain’ a video to project onto the teaching pool, this will be accompanied by a soundtrack.  Visitors are invited to watch the colour and texture of the water change through vibrant video projections, whilst swimming and listening to a collection of sounds recorded in the teaching pool building, including drips, splashes, shivers and underwater recordings.

The projection will be shown on Saturday 12 September 7- 9pm at Wirksworth teaching pool, as part of Wirksworth Festival.

Test projection of Stain in my garden. Images by Stephen Lynch.

This weekend I met with the Wirksworth young curators; they want to commission me to produce a piece of art for the teaching pool in Wirksworth.  I will put together a proposal and start to experiment with ideas and materials, keeping the group informed of any progression along the way… I’m thinking video projection, sound, origami birds, balloons, umbrellas and night time swimming!

This is a really exciting and rare opportunity for me to experiment with something other than sound, or to work with sound and another medium, such as video and sculpture.

The folding starts here...

Wirksworth teaching pool

A tiny 10m x 5m x 1m

Last weekend was spent camping (in the rain) at Barn Farm camping site in Birchover, Derbyshire.

My friend (and very good photographer) Michelle came along to document interviews with residents of Wirksworth.  The content of the interviews was based on residents experience of living in the town and their historic knowledge of the area.  These stories will be embedded into the sound walk ‘Don’t Shoot the Messenger’ for Wirksworth Festival in September.

For further information and to listen to the sound walk please go to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress.com

So its the final day of the WEA Bird watching course in Nottingham and I want to know the groups viewpoint on feral and wood pigeons.  For starters feral pigeons aren’t even on the twitchers list of species as they don’t count, because they are not considered a pure breed and are a domesticated species.

The group are in agreement that the constant monotonous coo of the wood pigeon drives them potty!

Christine, works in the Lace Market in Nottingham and regularly hears the coo of a group of feral pigeons mating and nesting in the roof of the building opposite.  When she was in the middle of her theses a wood pigeon sat on the roof of her house cooing constantly, it drove her crackers… so her husband got a broom with a tea towel on the end to try to scare it off… but it just flew back and carried on cooing!

Janet is annoyed that pigeons eat expensive bird feed and scare off other smaller birds and has noticed that roosting spikes have been added to Cotgrave shopping precinct to keep pigeons away, due to the damage they cause to buildings.  Janet felt so strongly about pigeons as a nuisance that she said: If I ever see pigeon on the menu I always order it, in the hope that its the annoying pigeon from my garden!

Jenny used to rear wood pigeons for the RSPB, and has said that they aren’t as aggressive as some birds. Jenny doesn’t really mind pigeons, even though she does get a lot of them in her garden.  I think its funny when they do their courting dances and puff out their chests.

And the good bits… pigeons tend to hoover up unwanted food and they are quite pretty.

Thanks to Christine Southerland, Jean Cook and Janet Fernley.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger is a series of guided binaural audio walks, created specifically for different cities and towns based on the notion of a birds viewpoint of the landscape, looking down from the roof tops.

As part of the Don’t Shoot the Messenger project, I will produce a binaural audio walk for Wirksworth Festival to take place in September 2010.  A separate blog to document my time in the town and meetings with residents will be added to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress

As part of the Don’t Shoot the Messenger Project (see earlier blog entry here), I decided to gather further recordings of feral pigeons at the canal (Evansweir) that runs through the Rally Park in Leicester.  This is the place where I was first inspired to look more closely at the wildlife that lives within the surrounding area, to learn more about their behaviour through bird watching courses, and to incorporate birdsong and calls into the creation of soundscapes.

To gather the best binaural audio recordings of feral pigeons, I had to be able to get as close to them as possible… so here is what I did.

Wearing an overall and using tape to attach bread to my arms, legs and body, I made my way down to the canal, hoping that the pigeons would feed off me.

I was all ready to go, I had my recording equipment ready, my in- ear microphones turned on, googles on (just in case a beak came to close to my eye!)  As I edged closer to walk into the centre of the group of pigeons… they flew away and then looked at me oddly as if it were a trick.  So I sat down, but still they weren’t very keen, so I threw some bread around me and a few shuffled closer.  Then I laid down and before I knew it was surrounded by pigeons, pecking bread off my legs and arms and jumping on top of me, cooing madly.

The above is a short sample of the recordings taken at Leicester canal for entitled Bread suit for Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Please listen via stereo headphones.  Approx 1 min

Big Tidy Up volunteers, Photograph by Alex Hannam Leicester Mercury

As a sound artist creating site specific walks and installations, I am inspired by my surroundings and have recently discovered a passion for wild life, in particular birds, identifying and learning birdsongs. The canal is home to a range of birds; Coots, Mute Swans, Moorhens, Canadian geese, Herons, Mallards and Wood Pigeons.

I wanted to find out how I could help to clean the canal and whose responsibility it was to keep it clean.

It turns out that the Leicester City Council have a department that is responsible for clearing the canal of rubbish at certain times of the year. My query was passed onto the Riverside Rangers and a date was set to clean the canal.

The initial idea to clean the canal was inspired during a regular journey through the Rally Park, to the train station. Walking past the canal (Evans Weir) that runs along the Rally Park in Leicester, It’s hard to not notice the large pockets of rubbish accumulating at the edge of the canal and in particular trapped within the basin. It is obvious that the canal has been neglected and used as a dumping ground for litter and unwanted objects for years. Not only is the canal at some points unsightly but the smell in the summer is over powering.

As part of this clean up I registered the event under The Big Tidy Up website, in the hope that this activity would raise awareness of the importance of our green spaces and wild life, but to also make the public aware that there are ways in which they can help out.

The Big Tidy Up team initially planned to clean the canal from Abbey Park to the Rally Park, but because the water was so full of rubbish, we decided to do a more through job within the Abbey park area.  The team worked for 4 hours to collect 30 bags of rubbish and a list of objects that were too large to put into bags, including: 1 shopping trolley, 1 car bumper, several large pieces of plywood, 3 wooden pallets, 1 road sign, 1 callagas bottle, 1 pram, 1 children’s electric powered bike and 6 car tyres!

The Big Tidy up team featured in the Leicester Mercury (Tuesday 25 May p12) and I had an interview with BBC Radio Leicester.

For more photographs from the Big Tidy Up canal clean up please go to the official Big Tidy Up website.

It’s 4am on Sunday 16 May and I’ve just arrived at Watermead Country Park, to listen to the infamous dawn chorus.  At this time of year the sound of birdsong is spectacular and at its loudest.  It is also a chance to celebrate the return of migratory birds and to decipher bird song from the many alarm, contact and mating calls.

The recordings from the dawn chorus were used as part of a origami bird installation entitled Flock, the birds were installed at a teaching pool in Wirksworth for Wirksworth Festival 2010.

Listen to Flock

A swan with her cygnets at Watermead Country Park

Ive joined a bird watching course- Enjoying birding with others in Nottingham, led by Christopher Hall from New Horizons.

The emphasis of this course will be on the enjoyment of birds and nature by encouraging course members of all levels to discover the local area, and to identify the birds, which use the different habitats. Outdoor coaching on the identification of birds by sight and song will be taught and the group will have the opportunity to practise there skills with the aid of a telescope under supervision.  At the end of each meeting the group will compile a list of birds identified.

So far the group have met at the following places: Wollaton Park, Trent Meadows and Nottingham Canal Local Nature Reserve, Cossall.  The course has made me more aware of my surroundings and at every opportunity Im trying to identify birds and birdsong.

I’m also a member of the RSPB, to help protect reserves for nature and to support the research into problems facing birds and our environment.  I attend talks by local bird watching groups, including the RSPB Loughborough group and the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithology Society (LROS).  I was inspired by a recent talk by Nigel Slater, an enthusiastic local amateur who gave a fascinating presentation on bird identification to help the RSPB Lboro group develop their knowledge of the wide range of bird calls and song.

A House sparrow or a Wren? in the guttering of a house opposite my parents house

Two young starlings in the garden

Wood pigeon feeding in the garden

My zebra finches- a little easier to spot and still unnamed!

Time outside the cage

Bill Fontana, one of the world’s leading sound artists, will be show casing River Sounding, a walk- through sound and video installation at Somerset House from 15 April- 31 May 2010.

Somerset House was built with direct access onto the Thames – the home of Admiral Nelson’s Navy Office with boats entering through the building’s great arch on the river.

Bill Fontana has collected hundreds of hours of audio and video from above and below the suface of the Thames, from Richmond to remote locations in the Estuary, to reveal the hidden stories and sound-worlds of the river.

Taking the lift to the bottom floor and walking out into the lightwells and Dead House- spaces far below the courtyard, usually closed to the public. The weather is awful and its raining heavily. We run to get inside a sheltered space, ending up in a dingy tunnel saturated by a green light. The space is dark and feels claustrophobic with pigeons quietly walking and cooing above our heads along dusty pipes, one swoops down and flies towards a projection of pedestrians and cars sweeping across a busy Tower Bridge.

Moving deeper into the tunnel and past the projection, the whole thing is atmospheric and even a bit unnerving.  Immersed in a space resonating the sound of water flowing, with distant ships’ horns, bells and the rumble of engines- blasted from loud, impressive, giant speakers.  The internal sound of the river itself has been captured by hydrophones suspended beneath its surface.

But as it is, we might think of the Thames as a river of ghosts. Of the victims of its worst disaster, when the Princess Alice sunk in 1878 drowning 600, or of the 58 residents of Canvey Island claimed by its waters in the 1953 flood, or of the 17th-century gentleman usher whose tomb we encounter in a passageway buried beneath Somerset House’s courtyard. But also the ghosts of abandoned warehouses, relics of obsolete industries, that line the river’s banks, or of the once mighty, now emasculated, tributaries – the Fleet, the Westbourne, the Tyburn – now reduced to trickling pathetically out of their outlets in the embankment walls. Martin Cullingford is editor of Gramophone online

The areas of ornithology (a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds), that I find fascinating is bird intelligence; in particular, instinct and learning. I hope to use these areas of interest as a catalyst to experiment and inspire new soundscapes and initiatives.

Research areas:

Don’t shoot the messenger: To compare and contrast the cultural and historical references of the pigeon, in particular their use as a messenger during World War II, with today’s role as a nuisance looking for feeding opportunities within the city.

Bird Brain: To observe the behaviour of birds within rural areas and the city to develop an understanding of the complex nature of bird calls, including how calls are learnt, committed to memory, adapted and invented.

To investigate how bird calls (including non- locatable alarm calls) can be used to establish an early warning system and protect families, other bird colonies and mammals.

The pigeon is probably one of the most common birds seen as an unwelcome visitor within the heart of the city.  The pigeon is a sociable bird, roosting in groups on the edge of buildings, making unstable nests in nearby trees and buildings.  It would seem that the role of the pigeon is now redundant, when compared to the historic role and identity it held as a symbol of gods and goddesses, messengers, pets, sport, food and even as a war hero.

Most of us are unaware that pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet with pigeons being able to undertake tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates.  The pigeon has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognise its reflection in a mirror).  A 10- year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and freeways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at freeway junctions.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger statement (for a sound walk)

To produce a site specific, downloadable binaural audio sound walk, inspired by the adaptation of one of the most common ‘city birds’- the feral pigeon. ’City birds’ is the terminology given to species, always ready to exploit a potential food source or a suitable nesting site. The walk will take the form of a tour guide based on the exploration of public space, including spaces where pigeons nest and roost. The walk will address the notion of the pigeon as vermin and celebrate the important roles throughout history.

The soundscape will be constructed (via in-ear microphones), using layers of recordings including ambient sounds of the city, with directional instructions and a narrative. Visual aids (reverse graffiti or high tack waterproof vinyl’s) will accompany the soundscape, to enable the listener to re-trace my footsteps. Using theories of psychogeography, the narrative will explore my own experience of the city as well as local residents and commuters and the notion of a pigeon’s perspective looking down onto the city.

The soundscape will engage residents of the city, including the bird watching community within the East Midlands, (of which I am a member of several groups) to build an accurate representation of the birds living within the city. It will also raise awareness of the cultural and historical references of the surrounding environment, using precise three- dimensional sound to create an experience of physical immediacy and complexity, offering the listener a multitude of sensations, leaving them unable to distinguish between what is ‘live’ sound and what is recorded. This method of immersion means that I am able to take pedestrians off their predictable paths, giving them a new awareness of their surroundings.

Pigeons at the canal in Leicester

Pigeons in town square in Leicester

Roosting spikes on building in town centre, Leicester

Pets at Home store with a feral pigeon cheekily nicking some bird feed

Marcus Coate’s first retrospective in this country at Milton Keynes Gallery from 15 January to 4 April 2010.

This is the first time that I have encountered Coates’ work and was encouraged to do so because of my interest in nature, (in particular birds) and the relationship with the urban environment… this interest has many levels, from bird calls and behaviour, migration, migration barriers and tagging to nesting and roosting in abandoned buildings and bird control and architecture.

Like other visitors watching  ’Journey to the Other World’, I was transfixed on Coates shaman ritual performance, watching him achieve a trance like state and take part in a one way conversation (mimicking the language of animals through grunts, moans, chirps, etc) with animals and birds from the spirit world.

The ritual took place in a flat in Liverpool, with a group of around 10 people sat in front of Coates.  The group had concerns about the area they lived in, including the future of the site and the community and were worried that the network would seese to exist.  Coates’ role was to provide guidance to the group’s questions via communication with the animal spirit world.

The journey that Coate’s describes is one that explores his and the audiences imagination- detailing his exit from the building via the lift and down into the lower world.  He describes encounters and conversations with animals and birds and (just like a dream) strange symbolic occurances that relate directly to the groups concern… Coate’s uses this premonition to enlighten the group and share his interpretation (of the sparrow hawks bird wing stretched out with feathers moving independently and then shrinking) when he is unable to get a clear answer from any animal or bird spirits.

Still taken from Journey to the lower world, 2004

Dawn Chorus is an eerily beautiful multi screened video installation, showing footage of 19 singers tweeting and chirping like birds.  All participants were shot in their ‘natural habitats’, including a car park, osteopathic clinic and in a bath tub.  The video footage has been sped up so the singers erratic movements mimic that of a birds and their ‘singing’ perfectly matches that of a selection of birds (so much so, that some visitors expected the installation to include real birds).  Dawn Chorus was a completely immersive experience, I stood in the middle, trying to figure out which singer was making which bird noise, occasionally moving closer to one singer, waiting for them to join in with the dawn chorus, the quality and realistic soundscape was mesmerising and to a point sublime.  I think this may have been the longest I have stayed at an exhibition.  Dawn Chorus was produced with Picture This, The Wellcome Trust and Geoff Sample (bird song expert and sound wildlife recordist).

Dawn Chorus, 2007

To watch a clip of Dawn Chorus please click here.

It has been suggested that after this show, he should at least be nominated for the Turner Prize… I whole- heartedly agree.

My experience of nature goes back to when I was about 8 years old, when I had many encounters with very ill or dead animals. The dead animals were buried by my friends and I, using twigs, mowed grass, mud, stones and dandelions in a secret location (the neighbours large garden) at the end of my street. The ill animals, including a rabbit, frog, two baby sparrows, a starling and a tree full of caterpillars didn’t end well either… so when I was asked what I wanted to be when I was older, I choose the artist option rather than to be a vet.

As a sound artist, creating site specific soundscapes, I find inspiration from my surroundings and have been inspired by the bird songs that I hear in the city, the park and my garden.

I have recently joined a WEA bird watching course in Nottingham and became a member the RSPB (Royal Society for the protection of birds) and LROS (Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithology Society). The bird watching course is designed to develop skills in being able to identify local birds (birdsong and behaviour) and distinguish between resident birds and winter visitors and to competently use a field guide and identify bird watching locations within the East Midlands.

To encourage birds into my garden I have added three bird feeders and plan to add a fourth which will have a built in wireless CCTV camera, so that I am able to closely observe the birds and record their movements.  So far I have spotted a wood pigeon who comes to feed at least three times a week… and the black cat from next door.

Wireless CCTV Bird box

Wood pigeon feeding from bird table

Greedy cat

Walk to work…

I find inspiration in my surroundings and have found the walk from my home to Leicester train station inspiring due to the range of wildlife living in the Grand Union Canal.  I feel I have developed a relationship with the area, its birds and walkers through documenting moments in time using photography, binaural recordings and as scribbled notes, remembering brief encounters and short conversations with walkers, cyclists, commuters and nature lovers.

Its easy to stick the ipod on to encourage a fast walking pace and make that 8.54 am train (and most days I do), but recently I have felt increasingly connected to the area, slowing my pace and walking close to the edge of the canal to identify certain breeds and observe their behaviour.  I have felt the need to experience the environment both visually and aurally instead of blocking out the natural soundscape.  I have identified five types of bird; these are the Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Coot, Canada Goose and Mallard (duck).

The sociable pigeon

The chatty mallard

The tame swan

The nervous coot

The waddling goose

Curve art is a series of site- specific commissions created for The Curve (based in the Barbican Gallery) by contemporary artists.  The latest commission for The Curve is by French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, a trained musician and composer, creating works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways.

His first solo exhibition in the UK, takes the form of a walk-though aviary for a flock of 40 zebra finches, furnished with bass guitars and Gibson Les Paul electric guitars as perches, and cymbals as feeders containing water and seeds.  As the birds go about their routine activities, plucking strings and pecking cymbals, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a random and captivating live soundscape.  The sounds are amplified to resonate throughout the gallery.

Carefully pulling back the metal chain curtain draped across the entrance, I wander into a dark passage way of flickering video imagery featuring close-ups of hands playing electric guitars. Rather than hearing the sound of the guitars playing I hear a humming drone produced by the amplification of the video signal.

As I walk into the light and into the main installation space, I expect to be confronted with a noisy composition of birds and people talking and moving around the space, instead I can only hear the occasional squeak from finches bouncing from one instrument to the next.  The installation was at full capacity, so had around 25 visitors, silently stood in small groups, huddled around instruments, patiently watching with expectant smiles to see how the birds would interact with the instruments.

Moving slowly around the small islands of sand sprouting cymbals and guitars to follow birds and find new ones, my movements within the space were affecting the movements of the birds, thus contributing to the live soundscape. I sat with other visitors around the edge of the installation and waited for birds to perch on an instrument close to me, observing the reactions of new visitors and listening to excited whispers as one bird startles another and they both move along the fretboard creating a random chance composition. The immersive live experience was both surreal and uplifting.

The artist Celeste Boursier-Mougenot said this: “My actions aim at giving structure to flows of activity whose input I do not determine, but whose resulting form is my objective.”  And the wonderful thing about this “resulting form” is that no visit is ever the same.  Because people are walking around all the time, the birds react; they move away from you, pick up a twig and start bashing it on the “A” string.

Lucy Jones, Culture blogs editor for the telegraph described the installation as ‘an oubliette of magic and fantasy in the concrete jungle of the Barbican… the best gig/art experience OF MY LIFE.’

Check out Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s installation at the Barbican Gallery on until 23 May 2010.

For further information and to watch a video of the installation please click here.

The Poetics of Space Festival, 25- 28 February - Spatial explorations into art, science, music and technology

Sonic Acts The Poetics of Space is entirely dedicated to the exploration of space in performative and audiovisual art, film, music and architecture. It examines the importance of physical space in times of far-reaching technological developments, and the physical and psychological impact of spatial designs.

The programme comprises four densely filled days and nights and will provide an extensive overview of recent works and experiments – spatial audio compositions, audiovisual installations and performances – and includes relevant historical examples and utopian ideals and dreams from the twentieth century. For further information please click on the link http://2010.sonicacts.com/

During the three and a half days in Amsterdam for the Poetics of Space Festival, the main events that really stuck in my mind was the live multi- channel electroacoustic concert by Haswell & Hecker, entitled “UPIC Diffusion Session #22″ and Duncan Speakman’s sound walk ‘as if it were the last time’.

The first night of live performances and film screenings took place at Paradiso, a rock music venue and cultural centre. The five hour event “Deep Spaces”, included Haswell & Hecker’s “UPIC Diffusion Session #22” for surround sound and laser lights, which utilized Iannis Xenakis’ graphic input computer music system, UPIC.

Paradiso was completely rammed full of visitors, a surprising and refreshing change to the small gatherings produced by audio visual events in the East Midlands.  We took our seats on the balcony, it didn’t seem like the ideal position to appreciate the concert, but as the performance developed from minimal subtlety, we were completely transfixed. With stunning laser lighting, bathing us in a vibrant and intense light, accompanied by piercing, throbbing tones, this truly was a superb immersive experience, that left us with our ears ringing and our eyes aching.

Below is a section of a review written by Trace Reddell, University of Denver for Leonardo reviews online, for the Poetics of Space festival.  The section below was written in relation to her experience of Haswell & Hecker’s concert.

The performance still powerfully evoked strange spaces that struck me as “retro-futuristic”:  wire-frame crafts emitting search beams and warning claxons as it scanned the world it discovered or invaded, dive-bombing aircraft suffering from engine-failure followed by an aggressive battery of laser cannon fire directed into the theater, the directionality then reversed so that the viewer seemed drawn forward into a domain of old-school, wormhole visual effects.

Official Haswell & Hecker blog: http://haswellhecker.blogspot.com/

View photos and video from “UPIC Diffusion Session #22”: http://2010.sonicacts.com/live_reports/upic22/

View video from “UPIC Diffusion Session #22”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGwzrVAiIlQ

Haswell and Hecker's stunning “UPIC Diffusion Session #22” at Paradiso, Amsterdam

Duncan Speakman’s sound walk; ‘as if it were the last time’ was a wonderful immersive group experience, ‘a chance to savour the world you live in, and to see it with fresh eyes.’

Me and my friend Owen left the conference early to get to the secret location before 6pm, we could see other people following and a large group started to form, looking at the clock in the street, we waited for 6pm and then simultaneously pressed play on our mp3 players to listen to the same soundscape.

We stood together in the rain, listening to the narrator, telling us a story and giving us instructions… we looked up at the roof tops, imagined ourselves running across them, stood close to shop windows to look at our reflection in the glass, walked arm in arm, looked at the sky (which made passers by look up too). At one point I was told to separate from Owen and hid around a corner and then had to run back to him and then give him a big hug and dance together- we were in hysterics at the end, both feeling exhausted after such a melody of emotions. This truly was a special and touching experience, one that was delivered individually via stereo headphones, but experienced collectively in a public space. As the write up for the piece suggests, you will ‘find yourself immersed in the cinema of everyday life.’

Duncan Speakman's sound walk- as if it were the last time

“Capricious and profound, the experience definitely captures what it is to escape from the world for a little bit…then to return and find that you see things differently.”–The Londonist

Download the sound walk from here: www.subtlemob.com

View a video of the sound walk and participant reactions. Scroll down the page to find the video. http://www.themobilecity.nl/2010/02/26/sonic-acts-2010-on-the-poetics-of-hybrid-space/

As part of the festival a selection of inspiring and informative conferences were delivered by a selection of key note speakers, many of them practitioners exhibiting and performing as part of the festival.

For more information please click on the links.

Friday 26 February http://2010.sonicacts.com/friday/

Saturday 27 February http://2010.sonicacts.com/saturday/

Sunday 28 February http://2010.sonicacts.com/sunday/

I recently worked with pupils from Newark Orchard and Grove Schools using mono, stereo and binaural recordings, using a standard dynamic microphone, in-ear microphones and hydrophones to produce three soundscapes, as part of the ‘School’s Out’ exhibition at Rufford Art Gallery.

Pupils were asked to explore the journeys they make while at school and to make a list of the sounds that they encountered along the way.  Each journey was documented through a hand drawn map, which was then followed by a group of pupils.  During the journey, pupils made notes of what they could see and hear, whilst others narrated live into the ear of Winston (the dummy head, who wore the in- ear microphones).

The group made a list of all the sounds they could hear including footsteps, squeaky gates, children in class rooms, kids playing football in the playground, planes and trains and the sound of lunch being prepared.  Some pupils wanted to include a narration into the soundscapes that explored the notion of giving an inanimate and silent object (found in and around the school) a voice.  The narration explores what the object would say to pupils- for example, the pupils felt that a lonely cold bench in the school playground would say “Do you mind?  You’ve left me out in the cold and now your sat on me!”

All of the audio recordings were then edited together to produce three different soundscapes positioned within the ‘Schools Out’ installation and played through speakers.

Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council

Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council

Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council

Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council

Schools Out Exhibition details: Running between 2 February and 14 March, ‘Schools Out’ showcases the creative ideas of young people from seven Nottinghamshire schools. Through working with artists and architects they have been able to realize a new vision for their future school.

Building Schools for the Future is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The programme will rethink, rebuild, remodel every state secondary school in England to create inspirational learning environments designed for the whole community.

This exhibition showcases the creative ideas of young people at seven Nottinghamshire schools working with artists and architects to realize a new vision for their future school.

Children’s School Journeys approx 5 mins

What did you hear at school today? approx 1.30 mins

Toilet Talk approx 1.30 mins

Only the soundscape ‘Children’s School Journey’s’ was recorded using in- ear microphones so should be listened to via stereo headphones. The other soundscapes were recorded using a variety of microphones, therefore it is not essential to use stereo headphones for playback.