In Bibaret JC210120 we listened to the world of small animals – invertebrates (insects, spiders, bugs, etc.), and used these sounds to uncover the social, scientific and artistic views of this crucial and vulnerable group of animals.
Even today, bugs are portrayed in binary pairs: useful vs. harmful, cute vs. repulsive, diligent vs. lazy. These pairs reveal our attitudes towards the world of invertebrates. Scientific research warns us that they are indispensable in our ecosystem and that we should be very concerned about them disappearing in large numbers. According to some data, their population has already decreased by 75 per cent. More than half of plant and animal species are currently endangered but insects are doing the worst of all, which is especially alarming. Their decline can trigger a domino effect and bring about the collapse of the entire ecosystem.
In Bibaret JC210120 composition, Jata C surpasses the limited social and economic perception of insects to highlight and become aware of the meaning of insects within individual ecosystems and, at the same time, also look beyond the scientific framework. In the performance, the artists humorously juxtapose scientific knowledge with environmental facts and face them with absurd social biases. They listen to creatures that can complete body metamorphosis and cohabitate with other species in complex codependencies. They employ auditory cognition to introduce artistic insight in the form of speculative thought and creativity to promote our close co-existence with bugs and other arthropods.
Jata C invited Tomi Trilar, PhD, an established expert on invertebrates and bioacoustic, the Head of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology that manages the National Collection of Animal Sounds at the Slovenian Museum of Natural History to join their collaboration. The biologist provided some sounds of select insects from the extensive collection and collaborated with the artists during the conceptual phase of the work process. Bibaret JC210120 uses bioacoustic sounds recorded in the field by the artists themselves and the Slovenian National Collection of Animal Sounds, represented by Tomi Trilar, PhD.
“Jamamaji (Antheraea yamamai) flutter, flitter, mostly inaudible since they fly with a low frequency – but the sound of their wings flapping against the leaves and branches can be heard… The turning of their chrysalises in the cocoons can be heard as spluttering, the same can be observed in other related species of saturniids – which is why once, when I received a package with chrysalises from another biologist and the postman did not find me at home, so he delivered the shipment to a lady shop owner in my area, they evacuated half of the street residents in my Berlin neighbourhood and called explosives experts, because that lady, who received the package in god’s name, heard the sounds and thought it might be an incendiary device. I could not get directly home on that day as the road was closed for pedestrians and traffic, while the Chief of Police called me a few days later when I returned to explain what has been going on…” (Dr. Boštjan Dvořák)
About the artists:
Jata C [eng. The Flock C] unites artists of common interests that explore bioacoustics and sound ecologies. They employ auditory perception to unite environmental and social themes. In doing so, they use the recordings of the real state of the world as well as speculative projections. The Flock C members are: beepblip, OR poiesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva and Brane Zorman.
beepblip is a sound artist and an archivist. She composes immersive psychogeographic soundscapes with the use of analogue electronics, DIY modular sound synthesisers, field recordings and computer manipulation. Her interest include bioacoutics, experimental music and microtonality. Her album Noise for Strings, Vol. 1 was published in 2019 at Kamizdat netlabel.
OR poiesis is an artist and researcher in the field of sound, sound perception and poetic performance. She expands word in the sonorous spheres of timespace poetry. Besides all digital dimensions, her central interest is the physical presence of the body.
Boštjan Perovšek is a musician, composer and sound designer, he composes experimental electro-acoustic music. His speciality is creating bioacoustic music that is based on the sounds of the animals, especially insects. He also play with the SAETA group, creates music for films, theatre, performances, multimedia installations and soundscapes for museums and galleries.
Bojana Šaljić Podešva spends most of her time as a composer on the research of sound as an entity that affects the listener both physically and through the content; her music thus spans between complete abstraction and complex semantic languages. She received several awards for her concert works, theatre and film music.
Brane Zorman is a composer, sound and intermedia artist, sound manipulator, producer and curator. He composes sound works for theatre, intermedia and dance performances. He performs electro-acoustic solo music and improvisations with local and foreign artists in surround sound. In relation to sound and space, he develops various strategies, techniques, dynamic and interactive modules, records and re-interprets soundscapes and uses sophisticated tools to create electronic and acoustic sound sculptures.
Credits:
Artists: beepblip, OR poiesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljič Podešva in Brane Zorman
Curated by: Irena Pivka, Brane Zorman
Organisation: Irena Pivka, Jasmina Založnik
Illustration: Vesna Bukovec
Translation and editing: Urban Belina
Public relations: Katarina Radaljac
Production: Cona, Institute for Contemporary Arts Processing, 2019
Partner: The Slovenian Museum of Natural History – Slovenian Wildlife Sound Archive
Venue: Steklenik, Gallery for Sound, Bioacoustics and Art
Live events:
- Jata C (beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman), concert, @Pixxelpoint Festival, Small Hall of the Cultural Center in Nova Gorica, 11 December 2020
- Jata C: Bibaret JC210120 (beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman), Cona Zavod live-stream, 21 May 2020, online event
- Jata C: Bibaret JC210120 (beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman), live sound event, @Steklenik – Gallery for sound, bioacustics and art, Ljubljana, 3 March 2020
- Jata C: Bibaret JC210120 (beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman), live sound event with a lecture by Manja Ristić: Introduction to Sound & Listening as Psychoenergetic Agencies, @Steklenik – Gallery for sound, bioacustics and art, Ljubljana, 21 January 2020
- Jata C: Bibaret JC210120 (beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman), exhibition of 8-channel sound installation, @Steklenik – Gallery for sound, bioacustics and art, Ljubljana, 18 January 2020
- Jata C: Bibaret JC170120: beepblip, OR poesis, Boštjan Perovšek, Bojana Šaljić Podešva, Brane Zorman, group performance, Art’s Birthday 2020, @ARS – 3 Programme of Radio Slovenia, Ljubljana and ORF Kunstradio, Vienna, 17 January 2020, 22:50 CET