Perchoirs pour humains

Discipline : Art & Photography

Categories : Art / Site‑Specific Artwork : Gold certification

Punctuating the forest boardwalk of a sanctuary for birds of prey, ten interactive human-sized perches compose a sonic narrative of the forest’s inhabitants, inviting visitors to tune into the natural surroundings. The winged residents of the sanctuary are quietest when humans are present; the Human Perches reveal what we otherwise cannot hear. Perching calls for a full awareness of one’s body and physical surroundings. In this moment of presence and suspension, a new form of active listening is engaged. Created in collaboration with internationally acclaimed Canadian contemporary classical composer Keiko Devaux, the pathway’s layered and evolving soundscape reveals the dynamics and interactions that animate the surrounding ecosystem. The interactive soundtrack blends into the surrounding landscape and sharpens the senses. Once the experience is complete and the perches go silent again, visitors are able to hear new layers of natural sounds from the forest. Having settled into active listening, distant calls, rustling leaves, and sounds of the forest floor suddenly rise to the surface, more vivid and present than before.

How it works

When humans are present, each perch plays part of an abstract soundtrack drawn from the surrounding ecosystem. The perches adopt the energy of their respective seasons, featuring bright pizzicatos for spring, languid pedal steel for summer, low strings for autumn, and airy flutes for winter. When humans sit or stand upon a perch, a local bird call is blended into the composition. Volume is kept low, directed at the ear of the user and audible only to those very close to the perch. When no humans are present, the artwork is silent. 

Hello birds

Human Perches was created for The Quebec Union for the Rehabilitation of Birds of Prey (UQROP) in St-Jude. The on-site biologists’ knowledge of fragile local species shaped the project from the outset. Early in the creative process, a bird chant detector was installed and regularly compared with observations from the sanctuary’s team to better understand the activity of local birdlife. Dozens of species were observed in the early morning, while very few remained once human activity resumed in the area.

We understand that playing recorded calls to young birds can negatively impact their development. The birdsong in the artwork’s soundtrack can only be triggered by human presence, or possibly by animals walking on the boardwalk. Birds are more likely to use the non-interactive perches at the top of the artwork. The low-volume soundtrack is directed at the height of human participants’ ears, ensuring that the artwork is unobtrusive to non-human residents.

The project in images