Return of Birdsong Return of Birdsong from Milja Viita on Vimeo.
- A delicate statement on behalf of forest biodiversity -
Watch the shortened, one channel net version of the video installation:
In artist Milja Viita´s four-channel video installation children from Finland and Kenya give voice to endangered forest birds. The children´s skilful imitations of birdsong are also a touching statement of future generations for the preservation of forest biodiversity.
Commissioned from a member of Artists´ Association MUU
Return of Birdsong was commissioned from Milja Viita, a member of the Artists´ Association MUU. The piece commissioned by the Siemenpuu Foundation is a public artwork that invites viewers to consider the impacts of our lifestyle on forests in Finland and in the developing countries, and on the communities that are dependent on them.
Viita´s work was shot in Finland and Kenya with groups of children from schools and daycare centres. The artist took the children to visit former nesting areas of endangered or extinct birds. She wanted the bird songs to be performed by children, because the deterioration of forest biodiversity means that the song of many more birds will never be heard by future generations.
In the original installation consisting of four video projections, the groups of children are presented in an interactive relation to each other – each group, one at a time, imitates the birds while the other groups listen. The audience steps into the centre of the piece and joins the listeners.
The full length (17 minutes), four projection version of the piece was shown on September 21st, 2009 at the Narinkka square in Helsinki in order to raise awareness on the message of the International Day against Tree Monocultures.
Return of Birdsong was also shown in the Finnish Science Centre Heureka on October 17th and 18th. The visitors also had a chance to write messages to the world’s forestry leaders, who gathered in the World Forestry Congress in Argentina at the same time. The visitors´ views on how to conserve and promote the biodiversity of the world’s forests were sent to Ms Taina Veltheim, representing the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry at the congress.
Artist Milja Viita
Based in Karkkila, Finland, visual artist Milja Viita works with film, video, photography, text and sound. She graduated from the Department of Fine Art Media at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2005. Viita´s work has been presented in numerous exhibitions and several film festivals. www.miljaviita.com