Interactive sound installation | Bird songs in memory of loved ones
On September 17, at 5:45 PM, Algarve Evolution member Scott Hessels' interactive installation Memorial Birdsongs opens the event series Talking About Death (Never Killed Anyone) in the garden of the Goethe-Institut.
The installation will be open for visits and experience over the following ten days.
It invites us to reflect on memory, loss, and shared grief: How do we remember those who are no longer with us? And how can we share our grief with others?
Memorial Birdsongs invites the public to transform a personal memory into a sound experience. Using their mobile phone, each visitor selects a bird song and a corresponding illustration to honor someone they are thinking of. The selected song then becomes part of the installation, played through one of the more than 50 speakers distributed throughout the garden.
Throughout the event, a collective chorus of bird voices from around the world takes shape. Each bird song represents a loved one, and each choice adds a new story to this space of shared memory. Set among trees, natural sounds, and carefully handcrafted illustrations, Memorial Birdsongs offers a sensitive and welcoming approach to the themes of loss, remembrance, and solace.
The project brings together around 200 original India ink and watercolor drawings with recordings of birds captured in their natural habitats across different regions of the globe. The result is an open and inclusive space where individual memory is transformed into a collective experience, and where the act of remembering gains a dimension of connection and belonging.
Goethe-Institut, Lisbon
- In English and Portuguese
- Free entrance
- 17 -26 September 2026
The Artist: Scott Hessels
Algarve Evolution's dear member, Scott Hessels (artistic director) and his design studio FugitiveColor create public artworks that use technology to foster richer social participation, with structures that include interactive collaboration and immersive spaces.
Based in Hong Kong, the US, and Portugal, their projects span different media, including moving image, data visualization, kinetic sculpture, and site-specific installations.
Their artworks have been presented internationally in exhibitions focused on both technology and fine arts.