Directed by Denna Cartamkhoob, performance by The International Western, 6 mins

Until 1986 we carried caged canaries down British coal mines to detect carbon monoxide before our delayed human reaction. In 1986 a crowd of protestors interrupted the conference announcing the development of Canary Wharf by freeing sheep and bees into the landscape. They shouted “kill the canary!” but only canaries could have saved us: living signalling systems, a sentinel species sacrificed to warn us of the danger ahead. Now when we need it more than ever, is the canary dead already? Or is it singing otherwise, as a sign, a gift of grace time in the city? Time enough now to escape, move, abandon tools, halt work; to make the air safe enough to return.

The International Western and company is a performance collective based in London, working together since 2012, making installation and performance work about the technosocial mechanisms of contemporary living.

Directed by Denna Cartamkhoob Edited by Tom Chick Music by Robert Jack Commissioned by Theatrum Mundi

This performance was part of the launch event of the publication Sonic Urbanism: The Political Voice, in collaboration with &beyond Collective

Curated by Andrea Cetrulo