A post-human understanding of anthropogenic landscapes- bookending the 2020 summer fires between the sonic memories of the lyrebirds and the reflective properties of ice.
Considering these two landscapes, connected now by the ash from the fires, embedded in glacial ice. To reflect one within the other; the birds narration of its bush, echoed to the treeless NZ alpine ridges.
Across 2020 I mapped the post-fire landscape of the Blue Mountains. Words For New Landscapes
While filming in July 2020 near Mount Wilson I came across a lyrebird singing as it foraged amongst burned trunks and regrowth. Lyrebirds are highly skilled avian mimics of the birds in their local environment, specific to each valley. Like sonic historians.
50% of lyrebrids and numberous other birds were lost after the fires and the lyrbirds sonic memories of the birds gone.
Ash from the 2020 Australian east coast fires was windblown across the Tasman, landing on the New Zealand alps.
Researchers at Victoria University and Landcare Christchurch are looking at the future impact of ash (from hotter drier Australian summers) on the melting of NZ glaciers.
They are measuring glacial ice and snow microstructure, and the impact of forest fire ash on snow albedo (a measure fo light reflectivity) on the microstructure of glacial snow and ice.
Singing to Glaciers part 1: Research dual video juxtaposing songs of lost lyrebirds with ash on glaciers
Working with Andrew Yip to build a 3D gamified landscape, showing the land after the glacers melt into 2080 in response to atmospheric CO2 and predicuted hotter drier summers in Australia, with increased forest fires
Proposed views of from within the mountain- the mountain feeling the climatic changes since white colonisation.
Drawing on datasets from snow scientists at Victoria University, modelling microstructural changes in snow in response to albedo changes from forest fire ash, and increased snow algae growth.
Working with Andrew Yip to model a snowflake’s journey: A gamified virtual online environment from a snowflakes perspective, utilising the research data.
R: Models of snow under different albedo conditions
Aus bushfire ash over NZ
