Launching at the Melbourne Art Fair, ‘Ode To The ōʻō’ was first produced to sit alongside/within the exhibition of the same name presented at Gertrude Glasshouse in 2021 – an immersive installation of painting, sculpture, light, and sound where Mikala Dwyer attempted to imagine a zoo for the supernatural, populated by residues both avian and human. Electricity, colour, light, sound, magnetic fields, imprinted on the ether as we dissolve into particles of memory or data.

Composed by James Hayes in collaboration with Dwyer, the four tracks (ŌʻŌ, Magpie, Bellbird and spoken voice) were independently played at varying times to create an ever-changing chorus over the loss of the ŌʻŌ . The dynamics that naturally occurred in the exhibition are now achieved by various production techniques on the vinyl representation of the work. Each of the four independent tracks are stuck in feedback loops fighting for memory, consciousness and digital space.

Location: MOBILIA Design Lounge, FutureObjekt (E10 on the Floorplan).