''Forgotten Songs'' is a

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

work by Michael Thomas Hill located in Angel Place,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The installation was part of the 2009 Sydney Laneway Temporary art scheme. Afterwards, due to the popularity of the installation, in 2011, the project was turned into a part of the 9 million dollar permanent

laneway An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, walk, or av ...

installations. The Laneway temporary art program ran between 2008 and 2013 with the main goal of laneways activation, innovation stimulation in the city and, in general, injecting new energy into the urban life. The program consisted of two stages. ''Forgotten Songs'' artwork was a part of the second Laneways program titled ''By George! Hidden Networks.'' The principal aim was to address two key issues of urban renewal in city's lanes and climate change. Other than Forgotten Songs installation, seven other artworks participated in this stage.

Artwork concept

The artwork concept could be comprehended by the artist's words: "The installation explores how Sydney’s fauna has evolved and adapted to co-exist with increased urbanisation – inviting contemplation of the city’s past, its underlying landscape, and the sustainability issues associated with increased urban development."

Title

As a result, the artwork's title was selected to celebrate those birds which were living in central Sydney "before they were gradually forced out of the city by European settlement". The artist's intention was to return the birds' sounds to the city and make them an important part of city life.

Installation

Birdcages

The artist has used 120 suspended bird cages in the laneway above the Angel Place accompanied by the sound recordings of extinct or threatened bird species of the central Sydney.

Bird songs

Recordings are played of the songs of fifty bird species which used to live in the central Sydney area on two audio tracks - day birds and night birds - with "a calendared sequence of triggers that progressively allows for longer days in summer and longer nights in winter". Some of these birds songs can still be heard on the city margins but not in central Sydney. Based on investigations of doctor Richard Major in regards to the city soil types and examining

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

collection of bird skins, a list of 50 species of both diurnal and

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

birds was provided. Consequently, the sound files of those 50 species were gathered by the wildlife recordist, Fred van Gessel.

Practical development of the project

In terms of the practical aspect of the project, about 120 birdcages sources from various places, from eBay to second-hand stores. And the artist claims that in order to get all those birdcages, his mother, sister and his relatives have been involved in collecting and picking those cages. Sound installations have been done by putting all-weather speakers in some of the birdcages, which they continually play birdsongs.

Birds species

In addition to hearing the fifty birds' songs as you walk on the Angel Place, names of these fifty bird species can be read as well, since they have been installed into the ground as the part of the installation. The following list represents the bird species which sang in central Sydney. Some of these songs still can be heard in city margins, if these birds can find food to survive. #

Barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

# Brown gerygone #

Brown thornbill The brown thornbill (''Acanthiza pusilla'') is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspeci ...

Brown-headed honeyeater The brown-headed honeyeater (''Melithreptus brevirostris'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Taxonomy T ...

Brush cuckoo The Sahul brush cuckoo (''Cacomantis variolosus''), formerly known as the brush cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo family. It is native to Malesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern and eastern Australia. It is a grey-brown bird with a ...

Dollarbird The Oriental dollarbird (''Eurystomus orientalis'') is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive pale blue or white, coin-shaped spots on its wings. It can be found from Australia to Korea, Japan and India. Taxonomy The O ...

Dusky woodswallow The dusky woodswallow (''Artamus cyanopterus'') is a bird species of forests and woodlands in temperate and subtropical regions, extending into tropical areas around the Atherton Tableland, in eastern and southern Australia. The global population ...

Eastern spinebill The eastern spinebill (''Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris'') is a species of honeyeater found in Southeast Australia temperate forests, south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney, Melbo ...

Eastern whipbird The eastern whipbird (''Psophodes olivaceus'') is an insectivore, insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard mu ...

Eastern yellow robin The eastern yellow robin (''Eopsaltria australis'') is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia. The extent of the eastern yellow robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia through most ...

Fan-tailed cuckoo The fan-tailed cuckoo (''Cacomantis flabelliformis'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Taxonomy Six subspecies have been recogni ...

Australian golden whistler The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north). Most populations are resident, ...

Grey fantail The grey fantail (''Rhipidura albiscapa'') is a small insectivorous bird. There is no sexual dimorphism. It is a common fantail found in Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The species is considered by many to be conspecific ...

# Grey shrikethrush #

Jacky winter The jacky winter (''Microeca fascinans'') is a small grey-brown robin found commonly throughout Australia and also in Papua New Guinea. The jacky winter acquired its name due to rapid and strong vocalisations, which sound like ''jacky-jacky wint ...

Leaden flycatcher The leaden flycatcher (''Myiagra rubecula'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Monarchidae. Around 15 cm (6 in) in length, the male is lustrous azure with white underparts, while the female possesses leaden head, mantle and ...

Little lorikeet The little lorikeet (''Parvipsitta pusilla'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Australia. It is a small parrot, predominantly green in plumage with a red face. Its natural habitats are temperate eucalyptus fore ...

Mistletoebird The mistletoebird (''Dicaeum hirundinaceum''), also known as the mistletoe flowerpecker, is a species of flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from Tasmania and the driest desert areas) and also to the eastern Maluku Islands ...

Owlet-nightjar Owlet-nightjars are small crepuscular birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. Most are native to New Guinea, but some species extend to Australia, the Moluccas, and New Caledonia. A flightless species from New Zealand is extinct. There is ...

Pallid cuckoo The pallid cuckoo (''Heteroscenes pallidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Heteroscenes''. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guine ...

Powerful owl The powerful owl (''Ninox strenua''), a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, is the largest owl on the continent. It is found in coastal areas and in the Great Dividing Range, rarely more than inland. The IUCN Red List ...

Red-browed finch The red-browed finch (''Neochmia temporalis'') is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may ...

Regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive effec ...

Rockwarbler The rockwarbler (''Origma solitaria''), is a bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is the only bird species endemic to the mainland of the state of New South Wales in Australia. Taxonomy and systematics English artist and naturalist John Lewin d ...

Rufous whistler The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...

# Scarlet Honeyeater #

Scarlet robin The scarlet robin (''Petroica boodang'') is a common red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus ''Petroica''. The species is found on continental Australia and its offshore islands, including Tasmania. The species was origina ...

Shining bronze cuckoo The shining bronze cuckoo (''Chalcites lucidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was formerly placed in the genus '' C ...

# Southern boobook # Southern emu-wren # Spotted pardalote # Spotted quail-thrush # Striated thornbill #

Superb fairywren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of se ...

Superb lyrebird The superb lyrebird (''Menura novaehollandiae'') is an Australian passerine songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae, with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is re ...

Tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

# Tawny-crowned honeyeater #

Varied sittella The varied sittella (''Daphoenositta chrysoptera'') is a small songbird native to Australia. About 10–11 cm long, it is also known as the Australian nuthatch, orange-winged sittella and the barkpecker. Taxonomy The varied sittella was fir ...

Variegated fairywren The variegated fairywren (''Malurus lamberti'') is a fairywren that lives in eastern Australia. As a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non- ...

Whistling kite The whistling kite (''Haliastur sphenurus'') is a medium-sized Diurnal animal, diurnal Bird of prey, raptor found throughout Australia (including coastal islands), New Caledonia and much of New Guinea (excluding the central mountains and the north ...

White-throated gerygone The white-throated gerygone (''Gerygone olivacea'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Its ...

White-browed scrubwren The white-browed scrubwren (''Sericornis frontalis'') is a passerine bird found on the New England Tablelands and coastal areas of Australia. Placed in the family Pardalotidae in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this has met with opposition and in ...

# White-browed woodswallow # White-eared honeyeater #

White-naped honeyeater The white-naped honeyeater (''Melithreptus lunatus'') is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to eastern Australia. Birds from southwestern Australia have been shown to be a distinct species, Gilbert's honeyeater, and t ...

White-throated nightjar The white-throated nightjar or white-throated eared-nightjar (''Eurostopodus mystacalis'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulginae, Caprimulgidae. It is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia; it is a non-breeding winter visitor in ...

White-throated treecreeper The white-throated treecreeper (''Cormobates leucophaea'') is an Australian treecreeper found in the forests of eastern Australia. It is also called Dilmun in the Gathang language of the Worimi people, who reside in eastern Port Stephens and Grea ...

Wonga Pigeon The wonga pigeon or wonga wonga (''Leucosarcia melanoleuca'') is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia. Distribution and habitat Previously they ...

Yellow-tufted honeyeater The yellow-tufted honeyeater (''Lichenostomus melanops'') is a passerine bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia. A predominantly black and yellow honeyeater, it is split into four subspecies. Taxonomy The yellow-tufted honeyeater was f ...

Yellow-faced honeyeater The yellow-faced honeyeater (''Caligavis chrysops'') is a small to medium-sized bird in the honeyeater family (biology), family, Meliphagidae. It takes its common and scientific names from the distinctive yellow stripes on the sides of its head ...

Based on the bird species, some of them used to sing during the daytime, while some others during the nighttime. Therefore, song recordings change from day to night. At night, Powerful owl, Southern boobook, Tawny frogmouth, Barn owl, Owlet-nightjar and White-throated nightjar songs might be heard.

Design team

''Forgotten Songs'' was the outcome of an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

project, including Michael Thomas Hill as the artist, Dr Richard Major as the senior research scientist, Fred Van Gessel as the wildlife recordist, Lightwell as the audio system designer and programmer, Freeman Ryan Design as Graphic Design office and Aspect Studio as Landscape Architecture company. all those groups and individuals have been involved in delivering this artwork installation.

References

External links

Forgotten Songs
at City Art Sydney
Michael Thomas Hill
at Sydney Oral Histories
recordingtranscript

Forgotten Songs
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009142839/http://www.michaelthomashill.com/forgotten-songs , date=2016-10-09 at MichaelThomasHill.com Outdoor sculptures in Sydney Birds in art 2009 works 2011 works Owls in art