Birds, by their nature, are amazing songwriters: each species sings its own melodies, and we are often enchanted by their twittering. But imagine that birds have instruments under their paws: what would happen? A random thought, which quickly turned into an idea: the French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot wanted to do an experiment by putting birds in a room filled with electric guitars.
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image credit: Antonin EDU-DEMEA / Youtube
The idea then materialized and became a project, called ” From here to ear “, involving 70 zebra finches. This bird species is widespread in the coastal areas of eastern and southern Australia and on the several Sunda Islands. This species easily adapts to different temperatures and can live in a variety of environments, from very hot to temperate.
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image credit: Antonin EDU-DEMEA / Youtube
The French artist placed birds in a gallery, transforming it into an aviary, to make them interact with 14 electric guitars. The space is very large and the 70 birds were able to fly and freely explore the gallery, creating – unwittingly – ambient sounds. The result was surprising: their whistles and chants merged with the sounds produced by the vibrations of the guitar, caused by their legs, thus generating a fascinating melody.
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image credit: Antonin EDU-DEMEA / Youtube
Boursier-Mougenot has been thinking about this project since her childhood: looking out the window and observing the birds on the wires, she tried to imagine what would happen if the birds could produce music using instruments. In addition, the artist claims that she has always struggled to learn to play a musical instrument and therefore has given many zebra finches the task of becoming composers. “From here to ear” was a great success and quickly became a traveling show: it was hosted in New York, Paris, Milan and Montreal. The French artist captured the birds and, after the 10-day performance, released them. Every day, and at all events, a veterinarian checks the health of the birds.
An exciting project that met with immediate success: these birds, without knowing it, have become little songwriters with wings.
Watch the video:
source used: Antonin EDU-DEMEA / Youtube