Bill Burns – Bird Radio Calls

Bird Radio is a multimedia installation made up of a chandelier-like assemblage of radio and transmitting devices which play and broadcast birdcalls on FM radio, surrounded by a selection of modern Eames chairs, designed by Ray and Charles Eames in the mid-20th century. The piece itself is part of a larger work, Bird Radio and the Eames Chair Lounge, which appears inside the MacKenzie Art Gallery cafe, Craft Services.

The radio assemblage is made up of new and rebuilt versions of pre-existing devices which reproduce the calls of birds that have been exiled from our urban environments. Viewers may gently manipulate these items to produce bird calls. The bird calls may be broadcast via the nearby radio antenna, also hanging from the café ceiling, to the cluster of radios above the bar or any other FM receiver. This sound element of this piece may be activated during select times throughout the year.