ARK

Sound, Object, Re-Enactment
2009

The Story of the
Mountain Chicken Frog:
Amphibians around the world are vulnerable to an infectious disease called chytridiomycosis. This fungus may produce sporatic deaths amoung populations or complete mortality driving many amphibian species to extinction. The mountain chicken frog suffered reduced numbers inititally as it was considered a tasty meal by the humans in its native habitat on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.
Now, it is the humans who have stepped in to protect the future of this frog from the dangerous effects of its natural habitat.
The few surviving frogs, were placed in bags (not unlike pillow cases), then transfered to plastic containers and airlifted to Europe. They now have taken up residence in the London and Sweden Zoos.

Sound Descriptions:
Its call, a single, loud and piercing "oit" (like the enormously magnified sound of a drop of water falling in a puddle) uttered a few times per minute, carries over great distances.
During mating, males wrestle, with the dominant male making a "whooping" call and subsequently occupying the nesting burrow. The call then changes to a "trilling bark" (100-120 calls/min) to attract females to the burrow.

The Sound Sculpture:
The relocation of the Mountain Chicken Frog was described on NPR and I translated the story as a sculpture.
The sounds of the frogs are imitated with my voice:

trilling bark
whoop & oit



Exhibitions:
"SoundWalk 2009" - Long Beach, CA