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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rob Mackay
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'Networking the Flight of the Monarchs' (audiovisual telematic performance) - Soundscapes from monarch butterfly reserves in Canada, Mexico and the USA ar6 live-streamed from open microphones installed by Rob Mackay in 2018 and 2019, and blended with improvised performances networked in real-time from California (David Blink - handpan/trumpet); Mexico (Rolando Rodriguez - poetry); Canada (Jessica Rodriguez - video); and Leeds (Rob Mackay - flutes and computer). Inspired by Teressa Conors’ creative practice, “ecological performativity” enacts a non-anthropocentric model, characterised as the dance of agency between living and non-living systems, human and non-human actors, and the complexity within which they are entangled[1]. This model stems from the premise that artistic practice enables different perspectives of the world and becomes an apparatus for change, promoting what we consider “a long overdue ontological shift in the way we exist in the world”[2]. In this performance, multiple spatialities and temporalities are layered together, creating connections between past, present, and future, as well as multiple webs between human and non-human participants, weaving together in a dance of agency. The intended effect is a kind of ‘telephenomenology’, building a sense of connectedness, embodied knowing, and empathy. ‘Following the Flight of the Monarchs’, is an interdisciplinary acoustic ecology project bringing together artists and scientists, connecting with ecosystems and communities along the migration routes of monarch butterflies as they travel the 3,000 mile journey between Mexico and Canada each year. Streamboxes are being installed along the monarch butterfly migration routes between Canada and Mexico. These livestream the soundscapes of these different ecosystems 24/7 via the Locus Sonus Soundmap (http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/). The first of the boxes was successfully installed in the Cerro Pelón UNESCO monarch butterfly reserve in Mexico in 2018. The streams are being used for ecosystem monitoring as well as integrating into artworks which are raising awareness of the issues the monarchs face, whose numbers have declined by nearly 90% over the past two decades. The performance can vary in length depending on programming requirements. We have presented between 5 – 30 min. The example link is from a 30 min performance [1] Connors TM. 2015. Audiovisual installation as ecological performativity. In: Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA2015). Vancouver: ISEA. [Also published as a PhD at The University of Waikato.] [2] Welsby C. 2011. Technology, Nature, Software and Networks: Materializing the Post-Romantic Landscape, Leonardo, 44:2.
Performer(s)/Choreographer(s): Mackay R, Blink D, Rodriguez J, Rodriguez R
Publication type: Performance
Publication status: Published
Venue: Various
Location: Various
Year: 2021
Duration: 10 mins - 1 hour
Media of Output: Online Audiovisual
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpbb9dnOHPY
Notes: Performances to date: - Visiones Sonoras 2023. CMMAS, Casa de la Cultura, Morelia, Mexico. 7th March 2023. - Tusk North. Lit and Phil (Livestream), Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. 3rd March 2023. - A Space for Sound. The Arches – Newcastle University. 24th – 30th October 2022. - WAC 2022: 7th International Web Audio Conference. Palais Miramar, Cannes, France. 7th July 2022. - ICMC 2022: Standing Wave – International Computer Music Conference. University of Limerick. 6th July 2022. - UBMIUS 2022: The Ubiquitous Music Symposium. State University of Paraná, Brazil. 24th June 2022. - Big Ideas by the Sea. The Old Parcel Office, Scarborough. 20th May 2022 - Beastly Landscapes Symposium. Newcastle University. 10th September 2021. - BEAST FEaST & Barber Concert Series. University of Birmingham. 23rd April 2021. - Vibrant Practices Symposium. University of Leeds. 16th April 2021.
