The Dogs and Boats and Airplanes Choir, 2011

Bill Burns - Toronto, Canada

Sound Installation

This exquisite audio installation produced by the Dogs and Boats and Airplanes Choir consists of a repertoire of simulations and iterations of the sounds of dogs and boats and airplanes. The composition, which weaves a captivating narrative, was created collaboratively with Toronto children 8 to 12 years old under the direction of artist Bill Burns and choir director Alan Gasser. Performed by the students of Lord Lansdowne Public School and Howard Junior Public School the sound installation will be transmitted throughout the Atrium on Bay. During the night viewers will be immersed in an unusual soundscape that contrasts the animal world of dogs with the world of travel and industry.

The artist understands the dog as friend, advisor and worker, merchandise and wolf. Their role is tied also to race, class, nation and advanced industrialism. Like children, dogs are part innocence and purity and part unknown. Boats and airplanes are representative of global travel and industry.  Combined they create a language that embraces the technological world with the natural world.

Bill Burns is known for his projects Safety Gear for Small Animals and Bird Radio.  His forthcoming book called Dogs and Boats and Airplanes will be published by Space Poetry in Copenhagen later this year.  Alan Gasser is a renowned chorister and works as a music director and singer.  He is Co-Director of the Toronto-based, Echo Women’s Choir and singer with Trio Kavkasia. 

Suitable for all ages

In association with Alan Gasser and Sheetal Lodhia