A record player spins a vinyl recording of John Keat’s Ode to a Nightingale translated into Morse Code. Software listens in, live, and translates the morse code back into text. Other sounds start to interfere with the translation, interrupting the Keats poem.
The blips and beeps of the morse code meld with music boxes, bird imitation toys, singing bowls and other objects, all sampled and manipulated live.
Interwoven with morse code text are analogue films of birds and bird habitats eco-processed with natural materials. The film is further transformed using physical and chemical methods to interrupt and degrade the imagery. A poetic reflection on the delicate state of bird populations, as suitable habitat becomes rarer and climate change confuses the seasons.
“Arguably the most incredible work of the evening… Twittering Machines is like a twenty-first century zoetrope.” The List
