The Ridge Salon 2
Abigail Conway
My response to the Dawn Chorus stimulus and my contribution to the Ridge Salon, grew out of the curiosity to understand and interpret bird song from a birds' perspective. How do birds hear? If we can listen like a bird, what do we hear and what meanings can be made?
Humans process sound at 1/20th of a second. However, birds process sound much faster at 1/200th of a second. For this sound piece, and in order to experience how birds hear with such precision, I slowed down a series of bird calls and sounds by 10 times. I invited the Salon guests to close their eyes and listen.
The piece became an ode, a sonic poem - that weaves time signatures and frequencies - as a way to demonstrate the multiple internal & external negotiations and reflections within both human and non-human life.
Biography
Abigail Conway is a visual artist and creator of live art. Abigail works with material objects, craft and actions to create playful site-specific installations and immersive encounters for audiences. Her work crosses many disciplines, including; sound and video design, music technology, nature, architecture and performance. Work includes: The Candle Project ( UK, Germany), Ride: A Motorcycle Mediation (UK & Australia) An evening with Primrose (UK), On Dancefloors & Timelab ( Australia, China, South Korea, UK, Ireland)
Abigail is an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths University, London. Abigail’s research focuses on instruction-led performance and the politics surrounding participatory arts. Her practise as an artist is centred around a methodology called, The Hobby Project.
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