Artist:Teragap: Giulia Conti (Italy)Collaborators:Anton Grimes (Australia) / Simon Grimes (UK)A little birdie told me… engages the public in...

A little birdie told me...

Location:

Circular Quay
2000 NSW
Australia

A Little Birdie Told Me

Access and Inclusion

  • Wheelchair Accessible - Access to the venue is suitable for wheelchairs (toilets, ramps/lifts etc.) and designated wheelchair spaces are available.
  • Audio Described - Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Trained audio describers give live, objective, verbal descriptions.

Event Details

Artist:
Teragap: Giulia Conti (Italy)

Collaborators:
Anton Grimes (Australia) / Simon Grimes (UK)

A little birdie told me… engages the public in raising awareness about the threat to native bird species.

In Australia 133 bird species are currently threatened including Regent Honeyeaters, Noisy Scrub-birds and Palm Cockatoos. An additional 22 species have already become extinct – a heartbreaking cultural and zoological loss for the nation.

The installation places silhouettes depicting threatened and extinct species in and around the trees near Circular Quay. They are invisible during the day (just like the threatened species that we will seldom get the chance to see and hear) but at night they come to life, illuminated in concert with their calls.

The extinct species are illuminated too, but no chirping is audible; the ghosts of the extinct birds glowing in the night are silent.

The artist Giulia Conti worked in collaboration with ornithologist, Dr Richard Major of the of the Australian Museum Research Institute in choosing a small selection of the species currently listed as threatened for the installation. The accompanying recordings were made by Fred van Gessel and are from his encyclopaedic collection of Australian bird songs.

Country represented by installation: Australia

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Audio Description

Access and Inclusion

  • Wheelchair Accessible - Access to the venue is suitable for wheelchairs (toilets, ramps/lifts etc.) and designated wheelchair spaces are available.
  • Audio Described - Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Trained audio describers give live, objective, verbal descriptions.

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