Animal Coates

I've recently become aware of an amazing artist: Marcus Coates. I learned about Marcus's work through my sister, who told me about his impressive Dawn Chorus project. In Dawn Chorus, he slows down birdsongs to a pitch where they can be repeated by humans. Participants then learn the various birdsongs at the slow pitch and are speeded up to the original pitch of the birds. The result is amazing and truly inspiring, as the humans are made to closely resemble birds both in their appearance and in their songs.

Marcus Coates is a performance artist who explores the connection between human and animal. I recently had the pleasure of watching one of his pieces: Journey to the Lower World. This is an exceptional piece; a shamanic ritual performed in front of a small audience in a flat. Marcus wears a stag skin and makes very unusual noises as he embarks on his journey to alter his consciousness and communicate with animal spirits, much to the amusement and bemusement of the audience. It is a great experience (if a bit uneasy to watch) to observe the almost-terrified looks on the faces of the audience as they witness something totally unexpected.

I also read that Coates made an appearance on a Norwegian talk radio show in his role as shaman, and that a film was made documenting the event. I'm not sure if the film is available online, but the title is 'Radio Shaman' if you are interested. If you are interested in animals, animal sounds, shamanism or nature, I reccomend you check out the art of Marcus Coates:

Excerpt from Radio Shaman
Marcus Coates at the Serpentine Experiment Marathon
Dawn Chorus
Birdies - how to be a bird
Birdies part 2