Priscila Fernandes
A VOICE AND NOTHING MORE

Publication Inhale - Exhale

Published by Into Nature and Stichting Arts & Culture Foundation

Curated by Hilde de Bruijn and Hellen Abma

This online publication includes conversations with passers-by and volunteers working in the Onlanden, radar images and bird migration apps, interludes with two opera singers, and a fictional talent show with birds as participants. During her research in the Onlanden, she was drawn to what is perhaps the most popular leisure activity in the region: bird watching. She became interested in the language of birds and thought of the story of The Little Mermaid in which, out of love, a mermaid gives up her ability to speak. She wondered what we would hear birds say if we were to give them our voices - and whether we would be able to understand them if we did. Fernandes also tried to understand the technology involved in recognising birds' calling patterns and the way military radars are used to monitor birds' movements. She translated her experiences in the Onlanden into a video work, A VOICE AND NOTHING MORE.