2010
Whispering in the Leaves is listed on the Directory with Chris Watson and with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Chris Watson's sound installation in the Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Whispering in the Leaves, immerses visitors in a rainforest soundscape of primate calls and birdsong, backed with a shimmering wall of insect sounds.
At dawn in the rainforest, the spectacular chorus of primates and birds heralds the waking of an evocative, colourful world, while at dusk the familiar calls die away and are replaced by a night-time soundscape of reptiles and insects that is alien and wondrous to human ears.
Chris Watson is a sound recordist and musician specialising in natural history, renowned for his award-winning wildlife work with David Attenborough on productions such as The Life of Birds and The Life of Mammals.
Whispering in the Leaves features two sound pieces, Dawn and Dusk, composed by Watson from his archive of on-location recordings in Central and South American rainforests.
Diffused through 80 speakers, the two compositions are transmitted at hourly intervals throughout the day - Dawn in the morning and Dusk in the afternoon. Each lasts for 15-20 minute durations – the approximate time it takes for the transitions between darkness and daylight in the dense tropical vegetation.
On two days, Watson also performed live, creating a 20-minute sound composition in the Palm House.
29 May - 5 September 2010
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