Taalvlucht, Kunstenfestival Watou, 2023
01.07.23 - 03.09.23
During a residency at Watou, a village based on the border of Belgium and France, Louisiana van Onna meets nature guide Guido Quaghebeur. The two go out together, looking for the birds such as the summer dove, with its typical turr-turr-turr song. The result is the installation “Taalvlucht”, in which Van Onna dives into the relation between the name and call of three migrating birds that pass Watou on their route. The oriole, the cuckoo and the turtledove. Together with residents she slowly unravels the relation of these birds with the village and focus on their perspective on the name, as bilingual speakers. Visitors get the chance to correct the name of the three birds by listening to the sound and writing down what they hear. With this a new name shall be given, based on the most common answer, so that the bird has a universal name fitting to its migrating character, crossing all language borders.
Van Onna also plays with the strangeness of the very linear and formula driven scientific thinking methods often used to understand and give meaning to nature by creating an outdoors installation. By placing 6 signs on the 3 exit routes crossing the literal border, one with the French name and one with the Dutch, name she confronts passers-by with this principle and stimulates them to actively listen. The project was shown at the arts festival Kunstenfestival Watou 2023 in the house at Moenaardestraat 43, an old dove house.
A publication with the results of the approximately 4000 listeners is currently in the making.
What do you hear if you listen to this sound?
What do the visitors of Kunstenfestival Watou 2023 hear when you listen to the call of the cukoo, turtledove and oriole?
Exhibition shot of Taalvlucht at Moenaardestaart 43 Watou during Kunstenfestival Watou 2023
Videowork 'Kom mee naar buiten allemaal, dan horen wij de wielewaal'
14:25 min
In the spring of 2023 I invited inhabitants of Watou to talk to me about the interpretation of the sound of local birds like the Cuckoo, the Oriole and the European Turtle Dove. In a video with these inhabitants a few others like a forester, musicians and bar owners help me dissect their call and answer the question if they are rightly named after their sound.
Watou, by Caroline Lamarche
Thanks to Kunstenfestival Watou I got coupled up with writer Caroline Lamarche who wrote a beautiful poem based on my research, in her native language, French.
Watou à la frontière rassemble des voix sans frontières.
Les oiseaux de tout temps se sont joués des frontières.
Le courage des oiseaux joue désormais son va-tout.
Mon oiseau en ce jour se nommera donc Watou.
On nomme bien Koekoek celui dont le chant dit koe-koe.
Tit la commère affairée qui fait Tit-Tit.
Tjiftjaf le passereau minuscule au cri vif à deux tons.
Hoopoe, l’élégante qui répète ses houp-houp-houp.
Et Nachtegaal, l’enchanteur des nuits d’antan.
Chez nous le dernier nachtegaal a été entendu l’année de ma naissance.
Je suis l’enfant mélancolique d’un pays sans nachtegaal
et sans hoopoe désormais. Et bientôt
sans bruant des roseaux, moineau friquet, gobemouche gris,
alouette des champs, locustelle tachetée, vanneau, loriot, et j’en passe.
Même la zwalluw dont le nom fluide,
évoque une friandise qui glisse dans la gorge de l’air,
se fait rare. Reviendra-t-elle l’an prochain ?
Sans elle le ciel sera vide.
Voilà pourquoi Watou devient le nom des voix perdues
le nom de tous ces petits soldats inconnus
dont l’énergie me lançait chaque matin dans la vie.
Le nom de mon oiseau et le nom de son chant.
Watou, Watou, Watou.
Caroline Lamarche
Taalvlucht, Kunstenfestival Watou, 2023
01.07.23 - 03.09.23
During a residency at Watou, a village based on the border of Belgium and France, Louisiana van Onna meets nature guide Guido Quaghebeur. The two go out together, looking for the birds such as the summer dove, with its typical turr-turr-turr song. The result is the installation “Taalvlucht”, in which Van Onna dives into the relation between the name and call of three migrating birds that pass Watou on their route. The oriole, the cuckoo and the turtledove. Together with residents she slowly unravels the relation of these birds with the village and focus on their perspective on the name, as bilingual speakers. Visitors get the chance to correct the name of the three birds by listening to the sound and writing down what they hear. With this a new name shall be given, based on the most common answer, so that the bird has a universal name fitting to its migrating character, crossing all language borders.
Van Onna also plays with the strangeness of the very linear and formula driven scientific thinking methods often used to understand and give meaning to nature by creating an outdoors installation. By placing 6 signs on the 3 exit routes crossing the literal border, one with the French name and one with the Dutch, name she confronts passers-by with this principle and stimulates them to actively listen. The project was shown at the arts festival Kunstenfestival Watou 2023 in the house at Moenaardestraat 43, an old dove house.
A publication with the results of the approximately 4000 listeners is currently in the making.
Exhibition shot of Taalvlucht at Moenaardestaart 43 Watou during Kunstenfestival Watou 2023
In the spring of 2023 I invited inhabitants of Watou to talk to me about the interpretation of the sound of local birds like the Cuckoo, the Oriole and the European Turtle Dove. In a video with these inhabitants a few others like a forester, musicians and bar owners help me dissect their call and answer the question if they are rightly named after their sound.