Thursday 15 March 2012

Artwork brings rare birdsong into heart of city

Former Rotorua resident and artist Adrienne Grant has created an art installation which allows people to hear the birdsong of the region before human settlement.

Titled Korokoro Manu (the throat of the bird), the series of sound boxes and drawings are dotted throughout the central city and feature the calls of rare, extinct and endangered native birds such as kiwi, kakapo and kokako.

Situated at 10 locations throughout the city, the sound boxes are activated automatically as a person walks. There are nine different native bird calls, plus a recording of the dawn chorus that can be heard on Mokoia Island, a bird sanctuary.

Ms Grant, who lives in Hamilton, said the aim of the project was to give the public an unexpected encounter and also features stencils of native birds, spray painted throughout the central city. She said the installation was special to her, as she had a rare recording of a person imitating a huia - a bird which became extinct in 1907.

"Unfortunately, the call of the huia is something we will never experience but the recording of Henare Haumana brings us closer to this enigmatic bird."
Former Rotorua resident and artist Adrienne Grant has created an art installation which allows people to hear the birdsong of the region before human settlement.

Also special was the recording of the Mokoia Island dawn chorus, she said. She was given special permission from island trustees to stay overnight and record it.

Ms Grant said she hoped the installation would be "an unexpected encounter" for people.

A small brochure that describes the project and has a map of the sound boxes will be available from shops, Rotorua District Library and cafes.

Korokoro Manu is part of Sustainable Backyards Month organised by the Hannahs Bay Community Restoration Trust.

Organiser Melanie Allcutt said the month aimed to raise awareness of effective sustainability actions people could take part in every day.

The concept of a backyard was used in its widest sense, Ms Allcutt said. It could be where a person lived, their neighbourhood, town or New Zealand.

Sustainability, Ms Allcutt said, was about taking responsibility for the resources and energy people used and finding ways of limiting the adverse impact on their environment, balancing that with a good standard of living.

Sustainability Backyard Month runs until April 1. A sustainable backyard is a backyard that produces most of its own food for the year for the family.

For details call Denise La Grouw on 027 321-9333 or visit www.communityrestorationtrust.com 

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