Marcus Coates: Dawn Chorus

Dawn Chorus is an ambitious exhibition comprising films of 17 singers that uncannily recreate birdsong in their ‘natural habitats'. The individuals sing from various situations such as an underground car-park, an osteopathic clinic and a shed. Filmed in Bristol, the project is as much a portrait of British society and idiosyncrasy as it is of our natural world.

Picture This has worked with Marcus Coates and birdsong expert and wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample over a three year period to support all aspects of the project, from scientific research and field work, to sourcing and filming singers and presenting the beautiful, natural phenomenon of the dawn chorus as a contemporary art exhibition. The project is supported by the Wellcome Trust.

During rigorous fieldwork 14 microphones were placed around woodland to record the dawn song of birds over a two week period in Northumberland. This study used a multi-microphone recording technique to capture numerous individual birds' songs simultaneously during the dawn chorus. From this multi-track recording each song was slowed down up to 16 times, then each human participant was filmed mimicking this slowed down song. Finally the resulting video footage was then speeded up, returning the bird mimicry into its ‘real' register. The speeding up of the film not only magically translates the human voice into bird song, but also emphasises unconscious gestures that appear uncannily similar to the physical behaviour of specific birds; a grandfather becomes a pheasant, teachers in a staffroom transform into chiffchaffs, robins and blue tits and an office worker metamorphoses into a wren. Together the films create an immersive soundscape for visitors to the exhibition.

Exhibition

29 June - 04 August, 2007

Picture This, Bristol

14 February - 18 March, 2007

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead

Press

click here to download press release

for press articles click here

for exhibition guide and essay by Tracey Warr click here

Publication

In Profile Marcus Coates

This DVD features major video works by Marcus Coates and an interview with Tracy Warr about the ideas and processes that inform his work. The accompanying illustrated leaflet includes an essay by Max Andrews. Published by Picture This as part of In Profile , a series of monographic DVD publications on contemporary artists working in film and video.