Studio Orta

The film Symphony for Absent Wildlife draws together four performances staged in the Banff National Park, Calgary, Milan and London to weave a story of loss through the history of the point-blanket. The felt point-blanket was an exchange commodity between First Nations peoples and the early European trappers.

The film weaves a story of loss through the history of the point-blanket, an exchange commodity between First Nations peoples and the early European trappers and traders. Felt blankets were woven in the North of England and traded for beaver pelts in Alberta, the resulting capote coat gradually instated the notion of a ‘democratic’ dress-style. Felt is also the material used for the orchestra’s costume depicted in the film. It is shaped into the masks of birds and animals connected with the spirit belief system of the indigenous peoples in Canada. These creatures –bison, wolves, eagles– hunted to near extinction, were once abundant across the Albertan plains. In the film, a quadrophonic symphony is played on a collection of hand-turned wooden bird-whistles and the score makes reference to the disappearance of both wildlife and culture, as the symphony’s dawn-chorus closes with a heart-wrenching silence.