Hauntology is the shadow of Ontology; the study of absences. The present is haunted by ghosts of lost futures that urge us to reconsider our engagement with the past, towards a countermemory for the future. Once a thriving mining community in an isolated corner of the Capertee Valley, Glen Davis is a ghost town within a vital habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater, a bird that is forgetting its own song. Engaging with the industrial ruin through a hauntological lens, the intervention serves as an earwitness to place, layering spatial design with temporal dimensions of site-specific sound. Harmony is restored to the prevailing soundscape by repopulating the site with the sounds of human and non-human spectres, uncovering hidden narratives, exploring the complexities of memory and connecting with the felt presence of place.
Amplifying the biophony - using sound to reincarnate the more-than-human spectres of Glen Davis. Rehabilitating the Regent Honeyeater population and reintroducing their forgotten song back to the species.
With fewer adults to teach their young, Regent Honeyeater calls have morphed to mimic surrounding species. Captive release programs are experimenting with field recordings to teach fledglings before reintroduction.
After the mine’s closure, residents left, and buildings were relocated across NSW. These are rebuilt using mesh and rubble from the site. An installation streams sounds from their new locations.
The Archive of Lost Sound - Preserving fading communities and ecosystems through sound. Using sound as a tool for research and preventing collective amnesia of place.
Archive tunnel systems and listening spaces break through to the surface where scars have been left in the landscape from objects and buildings no longer exist.