Orchestra of Extinction

Orchestra of Extinction is a long term project in which Keegel and her collaborator sound artist Amanda King explore the habitat of threatened species. During immersive field trips they gather audio visual material that encapsulates each habitat as well as environmental traces such as plant saps, beeswax, soil and leaves. What they discover is then collated and housed in modified old radiogram cabinets, encrusted with habitat residues, emitting signals of sound and light to elusively represent each disappearing species. Each cabinet becomes an archive; forming a record of what King and Keegel have learnt through research, time walking, observing and documenting as well as connecting and speaking with scientists and local experts.

This contemporary interpretation of a Cabinet of Curiosities or Wunderkammer, highlights the vulnerability of threatened species and juxtaposes ‘recorded habitats’ within the historic Colonial house setting, of one of the oldest homes in Castlemaine Tutes Cottage.