The inside of an old upright piano, is recycled into a kinetic sound sculpture. Videos of birds are projected directly onto the piano to provide an ever-changing musical score. The movement of the birds trigger small machines to twitch and flutter on the piano strings. In this work, nature controls machines to create delicate music.

My great grandparents migrated from Lithuania to Wigan in early 20th century. I discovered this journey is also a bird migration route – the Baltic flyway. My grandmother went on to work in a music shop on library street, which sold pianos. This is why we had a piano and I learnt to play. This was the inspiration for making this piece connecting pianos and migrating birds.

Kathy Hinde is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice embraces open methods and evolving processes to nurture a more embodied connection to other species and the earth’s systems. Composed of hand-made objects, electronics and a blend of digital and analogue systems, her work represents a cross between kinetic sound sculptures and newly invented instruments.

She frequently works in collaboration with other practitioners and scientists. Kathy is a member of Bristol Experimental Expanded Film (BEEF) and a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol. She received an Ivor Novello Award for Sound Art in 2020.