Minamitorishima (Southern Bird Island) is a tiny Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean. According to scientists, the seabed surrounding the island contains what appears to be an almost inexhaustible supply of rare earth metals. The essential materials used in smartphones, wind turbines, batteries, and computers: the holy grail of the modern age. Yet extracting these resources causes enormous damage to the oceans and marine life. In his new work Minami-no-tori, composer and multidisciplinary artist Daniel Cross gives voice to the bittersweet reality of a society driven by greed and ultimately headed towards its own destruction.
Minami-no-tori was performed live at the 2023 Gaudeamus Festival in a production by NKK NXT and Rosa Ensemble. The project now returns in the form of a film, an album, and an audiovisual installation. At the Centraal Museum, the work’s eight singers are each presented on their own screen. Visitors can wander freely between them, resulting in evershifting harmonies, colours, and musical textures.
