Birds don’t Sing, They Shout

2023

‘Birds don’t Sing, they Shout’ questions the versatility of the use of sound, how it functions both as a warning system for protection and as a weapon for deterrence. The 6 metre long metal sculpture shows the inhumane attitude of Europe and Frontex towards migrants and therefore turned the audio sculpture into a new alarm. The sculpture is linked to the Twitter account of Watch the Med AlarmPhone, an aid organization that collects information from people in need and uses this to put pressure on the local authorities responsible. Every time AlarmPhone receives a notification of people in need, the sculpture’s audio is activated, a loud alarm is to be heard. The sculpture aims to be a new alarm, connecting people ‘here’ to real and live events elsewhere.

The active audio sculpture exposes the role of Europe and Frontex in relation to migrants. It is a response to the new weapons that Frontex is ‘experimenting’ with. Frontex is the European border and coast guard ‘agency’ that has for years been guilty of violent and deadly pushbacks of migrants trying to reach Europe.

One of the new ‘tools’ that Frontex introduced in 2021 was a sound cannon. This is a weapon that ‘fires’ sound of 162 decibels in a targeted manner. The volume of this sound is equivalent to a jet fighter engine starting up. The sound is so loud and painful that people are forced to turn around. Exposure to this can lead to permanent deafness and serious health problems.

The sound of the sound cannon reminded me of that of the air raid siren in the Netherlands, an alarm that warns us and serves for our safety. Intrigued by the different possible uses of sound, I focused specifically on this weapon and made it into a reversed alarm.

More documentation will follow.