Why is matter so intelligent, though? 

2019 – 2020 Toi Pōneke New Zealand School of Music Sound Art Residency 

Why is matter so intelligent, though? explores the acoustic relationships between reef fish, sea urchins, snapping shrimp, and other marine life forms in the Hauraki Gulf, considering the symbiotic interdependencies of these organisms through sound. 

Many coastal invertebrates and fish produce planktonic larvae that undergo development in the waters over the continental shelf usually tens of kilometers away from coastal settlement sites. A critical period in the development of larvae is the migration from the continental shelf waters back to settlement sites on the coast. [….] Ambient noise generated from the coast, especially reefs, has been implicated to play a significant role in guiding pelagic post-larval fish and crustaceans to settlement habitats. (Radford et al. 2008).

Biological clicks, whistles, and snaps articulate the gallery space. Alongside this, reproduced scientific diagrams and text that correlate with the audio data are presented.

Made in collaboration with the Leigh Marine Laboratory, just north of Auckland, this 6–channel sound work refers to the temporal trends and biological rhythms native to this marine environment, asking, what can we learn from these interdependent, self-organising life history strategies?