Is the Bird Caged?
I sat on a log, listening. The lock down was easing bringing with it the noise of traffic and planes again but the birds could still be heard. The den I had made in the woods was partially enclosed giving a false sense of safety. I wore yellow, thinking about caged canaries and their use in mines for detecting carbon monoxide. The air we breathe has become dangerous – from Covid and from pollution. Inside, I made some 3D postcards such as where two branches joined and I drew a sonic response of each moment on postcards. Using ink and twigs, it was a kind of not-music notational response to the sounds. Posting the cards to the outside, they became scattered leaving traces of ink amongst the leaf litter.
The cards represented a ‘calling out’ to the rest of the world, a plea for a changed world. The quietness that we had experienced for the previous few weeks was already being lost. The woods were a microcosm, during the quiet time, the birds and the insects could be heard, but soon, they will be drowned out again.
