Dawn Chorus, the latest project by previous LAFVA awardee Marcus Coates, will be on show at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead from 14 February until 18 March.

Dawn Chorus is the latest in a series of films by Coates in which the human voice accurately mimics birdsong.

The multi-screen video installation comprises films of 19 singers uncannily recreating birdsong in their ‘natural habitats’. The singers, located in various situations such as an underground car-park, an osteopathic clinic and a bath-tub, reproduce a recording of a group of wild British birds singing at dawn. The films are hung on screens in the gallery according to the position of the birds when they were recorded, creating an immersive soundscape for visitors to the exhibition.

Produced by Picture This, a Bristol based commissioning agency, the project is supported by the Wellcome Trust. Picture This worked with Coates and birdsong expert and wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample over a three year period to support all aspects of the project. This ranged from scientific research and field work, to sourcing and filming singers and presenting the resultant phenomenon of the dawn chorus as a contemporary art exhibition.

Coates, whose LAFVA-funded project, Journey to the Lower World, was included in last year’s British Art Show 6, explores the boundaries between live performance and film-making. In Dawn Chorus he continues to document his dark and humorous attempts to connect with the animal world.

More information on Coates’ Dawn Chorus can be found on the Picture This website.