Mixed media (rubber cats eyes, optical fibre, LED light source, audio)
Okonjima Choral Society was inspired by a trip to Okonjima, Namibia, a reserve for cheetahs and leopards. From a deck in the savannah, I could see all the wildlife that congregated around the waterhole at dawn and dusk and created a crescendo of sound. The most prominent were the frogs, in my mind performing as part of the Namibian Amphibian Choir. For this artwork, each species of frog is represented by hundreds of rubber road-marking inserts complete with illuminated ‘eyes’. The inserts are individually lit via fibre optics and a pre-programmed projector which interprets the sounds of the frogs into pulses and rhythms of illumination. A number of exterior speakers provide a soundtrack of the frogs. The audio/visual synchronisation is an important element of the installation’s raison d’être.
