Mike Collier
This work explores what might be called the quasi-symphonic aspects of a dawn chorus, an extraordinary natural phenomenon when, in the thin air of early spring mornings, birds sing, together – what Sir Edward Grey in the Charm of Birds described as a ‘tapestry of sound’.
I have taken part in quite a few dawn chorus walks in my life. Each chorus, whilst very specific to a place and time also, I find, carries the ‘memories’ of other dawn chorus’s just as, once having heard a piece of music for the first time, all subsequent listening’s are suffused with a layered memory of that first experience. Here we have Redstart, Robin and Blackbird with memories of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chiffchaff vibrating in the cool dark of an early May morning.
Dr Mike Collier
Professor of Visual Art
Principal Investigator; WALK (Walking, Art, Landskip and Knowledge)
University of Sunderland
