/experience a walk in the forest in a whole new way
//story
One of Vancouver's most beautiful and popular destinations is the lush and majestic Stanley Park. To celebrate the city's 125th birthday, we created Picidae Chorus, a light and sound installation that let people experience walking along a path in the park in a whole new way.
From a distance, park visitors heard the familiar summer sound of woodpeckers, but as they moved closer and looked up to the canopy, they saw birds perched on trees unlike any they’d seen before. Seven geometric white birds were attached to wooden boxes (percussion instruments) that were mounted up above. As people continued along the path, they got to watch as the birds lit up and pecked at the instruments. When the birds came to a stop, the lights would slowly fade. Picidae Chorus gave people an excuse to enjoy a favourite Vancouver past-time, a walk in the woods, but it had a new spin that got them to stop and take it all in differently. Hundreds of visitors came out to share the experience during the 125th celebration.The basic premise behind Picidae Chorus wasn’t to replicate a woodpecker’s natural sound, or sound patterns, but instead to fashion a life-like behaviour using simple principles – creation, repetition, imitation and propagation. With those principles in mind, we made a powerful generative rhythm pattern engine entirely in Arduino.
//how it works
Approximately 12 inches high, sometimes the birds pecked in unison, occasionally they pecked alone. The sound from each is unique and collectively they created a chorus and visual spectacle that brought mechanical life, and light, to Stanley Park. Made from acrylic, the birds have an RGB LED module inside and a solenoid to control movement.
/artworks
/all
/architecture
/branded
/light
/museums
/music bands
/performance
/public art
/sound
super puff
noise
parasol
colouring app
helix
samsung graffiti
OH!
summit
bubbles
field
halo
hako
fireflies
winged
marshmallow…
shine with pride
alveoli
array
mini halo swarm
zygote stageset
anima
experience…
illuminate…
pulse
sound clouds
jelly swarm
cocoons
mist
seed of truce
picidae chorus
mikado
boxcam
imsound
line segments
imaginary friends
stalagmites
visitor
pixmob zygotes
voice it table
LED bottle wall
megaclouds
starburst
mo-cap graffiti…