Unequal forms 1 – 3

Description

‘unequal forms 1 – 3’ symbolise 3 distinct collections of biomes found within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria, Australia. Each collection exhibits its own unique morphological archetype, from the ‘Rare and Threatened’ collection of Victorian native plants, to the cacti and succulents of the ‘Arid Garden’ and lastly, an entire microclimate of ferns that comprise ‘Fern Gully’. In each instance, field recordings of biomes have been meticulously recorded and placed alongside studio recordings from the violin and percussion family of instruments. The subsequent material has been edited and extensively transformed using a wide variety of computer software (primarily Csound, with some standardised plugins like GRM Tools etc, ), with the final composition taking shape through a series of gestures and phrases designed to mimic the way sound propagates across the 3 physical habitats.
The iteration of ‘writing sounds’ encountered throughout the work portray the many letters written on climate change by preeminent scientists. Each iteration acts as a thread between sections, weaving together a narration of extreme climatic urgency in the years to come. Metaphorically, the threads form a recurrent border around the work, mimicking the \\’Perennial Border Garden\\’ which uses a diversity of plant material forming displays of colour and texture.’ I created the accompanying video to document part of the creative process, however it\\’s not essential to the sound world, and was made from video recorded of the instrumental performers during the recording session.