Project Mounga

Over time, many pests like possums, stoats and rats have been introduced to New Zealand accidentally. These species do not have natural enemies and now pose an existential threat to New Zealand’s native bird population. Most of them are incubating on the ground; some of them are not able to fly. For that reason, a large-scale national project aims to reduce the population of pests by 2050 by setting traps which use acoustic lures.

The interactive installation “Project Mounga” playfully explains this plan by making visitors trappers. A relief-like surface depicts an area of natural habitat, in which birds and their offspring are subject to attacks by pests. The visitors can activate traps, represented by wooden cubes, which then attract and capture pests. The more traps are activated, the more birds can hatch successfully, and the bird population recovers. Visitors experience this effect not only visually but also through an evolving soundscape of bird calls.

Thanks a lot to Studio Syntop for teaming up with me on this project. Together, we have also worked on the Bat Cave, a bat’s point of view experience at Puke Ariki Museum.