Requiem (The Last Call)
2024
Lacquered mild steel sculpture, 4 minutes single channel audio
83 x 192 x 79 in, 211 x 488 x 201 cm (h x l x b)
Alloy steel bird cage:
30 x 18 in, 76.2 x 45.7 cm
Prints: 20 x 15 in, 50.8 x 38.1 cm each (5 frames) 11 x 16 in, 28 x 40.6 cm (1 frame) 11 x 11 in, 28 x 28 cm (2 frames)
Requiem (The Last Call), a large-scale installation that continues Kallat’s longer-term exploration of sound-based works. The immersive piece features recordings of bird calls from eleven species now extinct from various parts of the world. These include the cryptic tree hunter, the poo-uli, the dusky seaside sparrow, the kauai, among others that have fallen victim to habitat destruction, overhunting, climate change, and pollution. The work is both a memorial and a poignant reminder of simple creatures now lost, available to us as only as historical archives, in an age where 9,760 species are at extremely high risk of extinction. Employing an antiquated device used during 20th century warfare, the work underscores extinction as an aggressive act drawing our attention to the absences that shape our history—whether through war or environmental collapse.
