Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
Human Perches
If a bird calls in the forest and no one is around to hear it…yes, it still
makes a sound. But what does it sound like? With Human Perches, a “listening path” installation at the Quebec Union for the Rehabilitation of Birds of Prey sanctuary outside Montreal, visitors can bear witness to the melodies that play when people aren’t around and birdsong rings through the air.
Along a forest boardwalk with underpinnings made from salvaged local
materials, 10 anodized aluminum poles act as vehicles for large coloured
“perches” of varying heights and lengths. Visitors strolling the path can mount a perch to automatically activate a soundscape from the speaker etched into the pole face. What they hear is a base composition of abstract forest sounds, created by Juno-winning composer Keiko Devaux, with a local seasonal bird call layered over top. To avoid disturbing the wildlife, the sound plays at low volume. Speakers are arranged at different levels, inviting visitors to crouch or sit on perches to get their ear close enough.
Daily tous les jours worked with the sanctuary’s biologists to identify which species to include, installing a recording device in the forest to track and select specific calls. The team found bird sounds were most plentiful in the park’s off-hours when humans weren’t present. When people walked the path, the surrounding creatures (of which the sanctuary receives 400 per year) were relatively quiet, showcasing the impact human presence has on the daily chatter of the forest.
Each perch’s colour corresponds to the four seasons, so as visitors move
through the soundscape, they get a full year’s worth of bird calls, from
courtship in spring to vigilance in winter. At the top of each pole, a second,
unactivated perch is reserved for the avian wonders themselves. When the
experience ends, many visitors report hearing new layers of sounds in the
forest that they couldn’t hear before.
Team: Mouna Andraos, Melissa Mongiat, Lilian Laucoin, Stu Wershof, Michael Baker, Guillaume Saindon, Renaud Vincent, Mathieu Frenette, Eva Schindling, Ariane Dörig and Asa Perlman (Daily tous les jours); Keiko Devaux; smallmediumlarge
