The work of composer and audiovisual artist Barbara Ellison explores states of auditory and visual ambiguity. Across a wide variety of mediums, including performance, installation, animation and sound recordings, The Hague-based artist exploits the phenomenon of pareidolia (seeing patterns in a random stimulus). With a PhD from the University of Huddersfield researching ‘Sonic Phantoms’, Ellison has developed a practice exposing and fabricating phantoms from a rich array of sources, from ‘Drawing Phantoms’ with amplified objects to creating ‘Natural Phantoms’ from field expeditions to diverse environments such as the Arctic, the Himalayas and the Amazonian rainforest.

At Rewire 2020 Ellison presents ‘Forest Phantoms’, a composition of tree ‘songs’ made with binaural microphones, contact mics and hydrophones, revealing the hidden ‘music’ of the forest. The piece has been commissioned by Rewire together with Bos Wakker (wake up forest), a new public series organised by artist Wen Chin Fu and Lam Lai inviting visitors to (re)connect with the historic Haagse Bos (The Hague Forest). ‘Forest Phantoms’ will be presented on location in Haagse Bos via a series of guided listening sessions during Rewire 2020.

Registration is required for these performances. Register here.