Informed by the ideas of James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis and author of Novacene, Superorganism resonates with different soundings of complex ecosystems; from natural to artificial, from historical bird songs to electro-synthesis and machine intelligence.

It offers a space of meditation on the nature of grief, of hope, and of collective intelligence being forged through shared recording, augmenting and digitising our spaces of shared communication.

Taking place at a pivotal point in the history of our planet, during an era of mass extinction and loss of biodiversity, Superorganism invites audiences to reflect, under the canopy of the tree, on what we are losing, what we gain by paying attention, and what uncertain futures lie ahead.

Superorganism is an ongoing installation program originally commissioned for the Botanica Festival by Brisbane City Council in 2022. It has subsequently toured regional and urban destinations across NSW, and featured in Circular Quay for the Vivid Sydney Festival supported by Destination NSW in 2023.

With thanks to the following field recordists for permission to use recordings in this piece:

Andrew Skeoch, Listening Earth
Vicky Powys,
George Vlad (UK).

Acknowledgement to the State Library of Western Australia for use of John Hutchinson's 1980 field recordings of the Daintree Rainforest.