Month: May 2014

April

Annie Higgen

Noon stillness on a warm spring day. Green has taken over every space. Life’s force pulsating underneath the soft surface of leaves and the smooth young bark. The vibrant shades of green captivate me but for the microphone they remain silent.

This recording uses a strong reverb and echo over the original quiet recording of the walk to create powerful acoustic vibrations. The trembling sound – enigmatic and slightly intimidating – seems to suggest another dimension in which the life force of plants would be audible.

my head towards the sun

Annie Higgen

IMG_3208

towards the sun

in cell structures

schematic storage of sentience

6co2+6h2o by light into c6h12o6 and oxygen

there is sugar in the leaves

and green

 

i turn my head towards the sun

my leaves

green

 

in plants, algae

and cyanobacteria

sugars are in a cycles

with every breath from every lung and every mouth

in sweet light

in green sweet light

 

i turn my leaves towards the sun

my head

green

 

in a process of conversion

of energy

terrestrial synthesis

vein shadows against the bright mint sky

a site of reactions

like clouds collision

 

i turn my green towards the leaves

my head

sun

 

a light reaction

a heavy weight

pruning significance

100 million metric tonnes of carbon into biomass

very year

release oxygen

 

i turn my head towards the sun

my green

leaves

IMG_3164

a fable

Annie Higgen

IMG_3166

A man caught a bird on a tree in the woods

and he said sing but the bird remained silent.

A man caught a bird on a tree in a cage

and he said to him but the bird didn’t answer.

A man caught a bird on a tree in a cage

and he sang but he wasn’t listening.

A man in a cage caught a bird on a tree

and he said but he still remained.

A bird caught a man in a cage in the woods

and he sang but he was always asking.

A bird sang a tree in a cage in the woods

and he asked but he had no answer.

A man caught a tree in the woods in a cage

and he said but the tree remained silent.

A tree caught a bird and a man in the woods

and he was still but he didn’t listen.

The cage caught a man in a tree and a bird

and he listened but he wasn’t asking.

A tree and a bird and a man in a song

and the woods in a cage with no answer.

A song caught a man and a bird in a tree

and he remained but he wasn’t listening.

A man caught a bird on a tree in the woods

and he said sing but the bird remained silent.

IMG_3183

March

Annie Higgen
The beginning of spring is in the air on this exceptionally warm weekend. The sun pushing through the bare tree branches rediscovering her strength. Children are running up and down the path, someone is sitting on the platforms, playing a portable radio. But most of all the birds fill the space. Along every part of the walk there is bird song, chirping and cheeping. They reign the air in every way, marking their presence, their habitat with sound waves and wing beats. Fluffing their feathers in the sun.

February

Annie Higgen
The ground is still black but less sodden. The round pebble stones that once carried the rail tracks are beginning to shine through here and there. The air is in motion, bringing in sound and freshness. The tree tops sing with the wind gusts. The wind is louder here than you hear it anywhere else in the city, frightening and powerful. The overwhelming notion of an invisible force that touches everything. The abstract and calm, undiscriminating gods of moving air.

January

Annie Higgen
After weeks of rain and storm the ground is rain-sodden. Everything is covered in a layer of black mud. I hardly notice anything but the ground as I walk, paying attention to every step, making sure I don’t slip and fall into the cold dirt. All I see is the clammy soil. There are a few fellow walkers and a surprisingly large number of runners, eager to turn their New Year’s resolutions into actions. I am freezing and my boots are caked with mud when I return home.