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Lost Song
Murray and Burgess
Backroom | Opens on Sep 10 until Sep 25 | Fri, Sat & Sun
"Lost Song" is a graphic interpretation of the song of the regent honeyeater, a visual immersion in music, to highlight the near extinction of this species.
The painted wall mural, "Lost Song", is the translation of spectrographs of recorded songs of the regent honeyeater, Anthochaera Phrygia, with a smart phone drawing app.
Ro Murray and Mandy Burgess are the creative partnership Murray and Burgess, both National Art School honours graduates after careers as architects. Murray and Burgess have been investigating aspects of the regent’s song, habitat, and culture, through association with Birdlife Australia, Taronga Zoo and Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, to help advertise the plight of the regents’ survival and prevention from extinction. The spectrographs were obtained from ANU scientists Ross Crates and Dan Apperley who provide Taronga Zoo with recordings to train captive birds which are released into selected favourable habitats.
Once widespread in large numbers from South Australia to Central Queensland, in a space of fifty years the numbers of regent honeyeater have plummeted to an estimated 300 individuals, bringing it to the verge of extinction. Unchecked land clearing of its box-ironbark habitat for grazing and firewood has been catastrophic for this woodland bird which travels great distances in flocks following the flowering of eucalypts. There are other adversities affecting the regent, such as fire and seasons of drought with no blossom, and predation from species particularly noisy minors and gliders. As well as these and loss of habitat there is its loss of culture. Now there are not enough male birds to teach the young males the mating call necessary to attract a mate and to continue the species – the song of the regent is being lost. Many now imitate the call of other birds, and its own learnt song has become simplified and abbreviated.
Murray and Burgess have recently won a CREATE NSW grant to commission music by composer Felicity Wilcox, "Call and Response", to be played in their installation at Blue Mountains Culture Centre Katoomba, December 2022- January 2023, for which this installation in the backroom is a trial run. The colours of the regent are grey, yellow, white and black.
Ro Murray and Mandy Burgess are the creative partnership Murray and Burgess, both National Art School honours graduates after careers as architects. Murray and Burgess have been investigating aspects of the regent’s song, habitat, and culture, through association with Birdlife Australia, Taronga Zoo and Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, to help advertise the plight of the regents’ survival and prevention from extinction. The spectrographs were obtained from ANU scientists Ross Crates and Dan Apperley who provide Taronga Zoo with recordings to train captive birds which are released into selected favourable habitats.
Once widespread in large numbers from South Australia to Central Queensland, in a space of fifty years the numbers of regent honeyeater have plummeted to an estimated 300 individuals, bringing it to the verge of extinction. Unchecked land clearing of its box-ironbark habitat for grazing and firewood has been catastrophic for this woodland bird which travels great distances in flocks following the flowering of eucalypts. There are other adversities affecting the regent, such as fire and seasons of drought with no blossom, and predation from species particularly noisy minors and gliders. As well as these and loss of habitat there is its loss of culture. Now there are not enough male birds to teach the young males the mating call necessary to attract a mate and to continue the species – the song of the regent is being lost. Many now imitate the call of other birds, and its own learnt song has become simplified and abbreviated.
Murray and Burgess have recently won a CREATE NSW grant to commission music by composer Felicity Wilcox, "Call and Response", to be played in their installation at Blue Mountains Culture Centre Katoomba, December 2022- January 2023, for which this installation in the backroom is a trial run. The colours of the regent are grey, yellow, white and black.
www.murrayandburgess.com.au
Instagram | murrayandburgessart
Opening | Sat Sep 10, 3-6pm
Opening for Louise Owen, Nectarios Livisianos, and, Murray and Burgess
Tea and Conversation | Sun Sep 18, 2-3pm
Come meet the artists Louise Owen, Nectarios Livisianos, and Murray and Burgess. Chat about their work, progress, and where next.
Closing Drinks I Sun, Sept 25, 3-5pm
A closing party to celebrate the end of the shows.
