Chris Watson - Whispering in the Leaves

Tropical rainforests hold a special place in our hearts and imaginations. They are also home to more than half the wildlife on earth. Twice each day, hundreds of primates, thousands of birds and millions of insects broadcast their presence in dawn and dusk choruses of myriad voices – mostly unseen, but heard far and wide through the dense dark greens of the tree canopy and rolling out across the dank leaves of the forest floor.

In a major new work by renowned sound recordist Chris Watson, visitors to the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens are invited to experience the extraordinary soundtrack of the South American rainforest diffused through the tropical foliage of this enclosed botanical environment, which is home to over 2,000 flowers and plants.

At hourly intervals throughout the day, a surprising and dynamic surround soundscape of dawn and dusk choruses will be transmitted for a 15–20 minute duration, approximately the time taken in the rainforest for the transitions from darkness into light, and from daylight to dark.

Shifting between the musicality of primate calls and birdsong and backed with the shimmering wall of insect sounds, Watson's sound mixes are derived from an extensive archive of wildlife and field recordings made on location in the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. An unseen soundscape of thousands of species including black howler and spider monkeys, tree frogs, cicadas, and diverse birdlife, communicates a myriad of information; as these calls, voices and other sounds are transmitted back and forth, as each creature broadcasts its presence to others.

Watson's installation, set amongst the tropical foliage of the Winter Gardens, takes us momentarily to a place full of marvels, where we often fear to tread.

A captivating sensory experience, the work is a remarkable demonstration of the power of sound recordings and natural history broadcast to transport us to far flung, inaccessible and often extraordinary locations.

29 Feb – 9 Mar 08 | Installation | Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, AV Festival 08, UK
6 Mar 08 | Live performance, 20:30 | Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, AV Festival 08, UK

Produced by Forma
Commissioned by AV Festival 08 and Forma
Photos: Sean Thamer

Live performance, 6 Mar 08, 20:30

Chris Watson will perform a live sound mix in which audio recording of a three or four hour period across late afternoon, sunset and into the night will be compressed into around twenty minutes. Featuring recordings of a tropical thunderstorm and ending with the deep, lush sounds of the nocturnal insect chorus, the performance will create an intense auditory narrative for the audience.