Lightscape

Birds in Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne: 1) Rainbow Lorikeet. 2) Australasian Darter. Photographs by Mathew Lyn.

Artists: Culture Creative, soundscape by Patrick Cronin.

Did you know that Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne is home to over 140 species of bird? Its vast collection of sheltered canopies and reedy waterways make the Gardens an ideal home for birds of all shapes and sizes. Neon Bird Boxes is a playful tribute to the Gardens and its many feathered residents.

Consideration for the well-being of these birds is fundamental to the planning of Lightscape. Each year, the proposed new Lightscape trail undergoes an independent fauna assessment to determine which trees can be lit, and which should be left for birds and other fauna to sleep and feed in. Adding to the avian theme; local birdlife also features in the audio layer of Neon Bird Boxes, created by Melbourne-based musician and sound designer Patrick Cronin. For the past four years, Patrick has collaborated with Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria on Sonica Botanica, a series of audio experiences that respond to people, places and plants at the Melbourne Gardens.

The soundscape for Neon Bird Boxes is reimagined and remixed from audio materials used in Episode 4 of Sonica Botanica, which focusses on the northern end of the Gardens – the Southern China Collection, Long Island, and the Waterways – the location of this installation.

The audio is in part generated from field recordings of the bird life in this part of the Gardens, in particular the Bell Miners and the astonishing variety of waterbirds.  These environmental recordings have been transformed using creative sound design techniques and richly supplemented with synth and sample-based musical materials to create an immersive sonic experience to accompany the Neon Bird Boxes.

Hear more of Patrick’s work and learn more about this area and our waterbodies in Sonica Botanica: Southern China Collection, Long Island, the Water. Journey to the northern end of the Melbourne Gardens to discover the waterbodies that sustain life in the Gardens, their history and their significance to RBGV’s plant collections.