The Tuateawa project seeks to inform ecological understanding using analyses of soundscapes. Sound recordings are made in specific locations near Tuateawa in the Coromandel peninsula. This area is being monitored for the eradication of pests such as possums, stoats and rats. The research looks at how the soundscapes change over time, in particular: how is bird life affected by the presence of introduced noxious pests? And, how does human activity influence natural behaviours?
The project is a form of documentary capturing detailed sound recordings every season for three or more years. The sound data is analysed for noticeable shifts in frequency and loudness, and output as various visual abstractions, the first of which is an audio visual work for LCD screens and speakers at Ramp Gallery 7-11 December 2020. The intended audience is intermediate age children to get them thinking about how these soundscapes might be understood and focused on through a less ‘scientific’ medium.