Forest Choir

Ottomata

Montreal, Canada

FOREST CHOIR is a light and sound interactive installation where the public joins the forest fauna in a magical call and response experience. The public is invited to step on one of the four stations fronting a forest area, each equipped with a microphone. As they express themselves in the microphone, a colored light trail is seen going from the station toward the trees before a part of the forest becomes lit in a specific color and responds with the sounds of animals native to Wisconsin. As multiple people interact on each station, a luminous and surrealist ensemble is created between them and the forest, becoming a new whole together with the spirit of the forests and its animals.

Pro Tip

The glowing orbs are microphones that activates the imagery in the trees. Take a deep breath - howl, whistle, make any loud-long winded sound into the microphone. With every call the animal in the trees will become more visible - after 6-10 calls the microphones will turn orange and the animal with dissipate. A new animal will appear and the cycle will begin again.

Inside the Installation

Materials: projectors, speakers, LEDs, microphone

The installation was inspired by native Wisconsin animals and their personas. By stepping on the different platforms, the public will be able to discover the spirit of the animals that inhabit the installation.

A special interactive audio system was developed so that the public can recognize their voice and tone while they are calling for the animal spirit but are unable to comprehend the syllables they are saying which adds a fun and “family-friendly” twist.

The installation was originally tested in one of the artist’s own backyards - lots of fun for the neighbors!

We were initially inspired by the “howling survey” technique, which involves triggering wolves to howl by howling at them and listening for their response, with the intention of counting them or locating their homesites. We originally envisioned it as a captivating interactive installation where participants could “howl at the wolves,” but the concept evolved into the creation of an entire Forest Choir.

Artist Bio

Ottomata

Ottomata is an experiential design studio specialized in the conception of interactive installations and immersive journeys without the need for wearable tech. Nowadays, we often hear the word immersion being used in the domain and it is often associated with the world of virtual reality. Us, Ottomata, we try to get away from this device.

We work in the public space and try to combine multiple technologies in order to create collaborative and collective experiences for our audiences. By combining architectural mapping, laser projectors, holographic systems, and motion tracking technologies, we are able to create interactive installations in which the human is at the center. All these collective experiences help us push our vision even further and ultimately, bring people back to the present moment.

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