How can people ‘see’ the sounds of wildlife?

University of the Sunshine Coast researchers using cymatics – the science of visualising acoustics – will work for the next year on an experimental project to visually portray the calls of the white-bellied sea eagle, black swan, Queensland lungfish and humpback whale.

USC sound artist and design academic Dr Leah Barclay, USC photography academic Dr Tricia King and acclaimed Sunshine Coast artist Lyndon Davis, a direct descendant of the local Kabi Kabi people, hope the project will encourage conservation and environmental connection.

“We are bringing together Indigenous knowledge, environmental research and emerging technology in exciting ways,” Dr Barclay said.

The team has won an Australia Council for the Arts grant to support The Beeyali Project (beeyali is a Kabi Kabi word meaning “to call”).

“My aim with Beeyali is to experiment with what is possible with this new technology and create the first iteration of a body of work that inspires people to be more connected to Country,” said Lyndon Davis.

The USC gallery currently features Lyndon Davis’s first major solo exhibition Diagan Yaman, which has visual elements that relate directly to the new wildlife sound research project.

Image credit: Lyndon Davis in his exhibition, Djagan Yaman at USC Art Gallery. Photo: Tricia King