Sing 2021

Sing is an environmental installation by Australian artist Debbie Symons exploring biodiversity loss, rainforest ecosystems, and the ecological impact of deforestation through sound and sculptural form.

 

The immersive installation comprises of one hundred handwoven pendant nests suspended from the gallery ceiling. Each nest contains a miniature speaker playing pre-recorded bird calls, creating a layered acoustic environment that reflects the delicate interconnections of remaining ‘wild’ ecosystems.

The work emerged from an international Labverde residency in Manaus, Brazil, an interdisciplinary program that brought together artists, scientists, and researchers across ecology, biology, and the humanities. This experience informed the conceptual and material development of the installation, fostering a deeper engagement with rainforest ecologies and the relationships between human and non-human systems.

 

The suspended nest forms are inspired by the pendant nests of the yellow-rumped cacique and other tropical bird species, including oropendolas, orioles, weavers, and sunbirds. These species construct elongated, woven nests from grasses and plant fibres, typically found across equatorial regions of South and Central America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Northern Australia.

 

Many of these regions have undergone rapid deforestation over the past three decades, with biodiverse rainforests cleared and replaced by monoculture plantations, such as palm oil plantations. In 2018 alone, the tropics lost approximately 12 million hectares of tree cover, followed by a further 11.9 million hectares in 2019, equivalent to the loss of a football field of primary rainforest every six seconds.

 

While the nests in Sing echo the texture and form of cacique nests, they are constructed from African palm oil fronds, a material intrinsically linked to deforestation and global agricultural expansion. This deliberate material choice underscores the tension between natural systems and industrial processes.

 

 

The work invites reflection on loss, wonder, and ecological fragility. It asks viewers to consider the future of tropical bird species in the absence of their native habitats, and to reflect on the broader consequences of environmental degradation. In this context, palm oil plantations emerge as emblematic of homogenised landscapes, environments that lack the ecological complexity required to sustain diverse species.

 

Sing was exhibited at Bayside Gallery, Melbourne, from 13 March to 9 May 2021, with support from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.