A multimedia work for GBSR duo, film & art installation
Drawing inspiration from intricate dams, pools, and riparian zones crafted by nature’s master engineers, Silent Architects unveils the hidden world of beavers and their transformative impact.
Filmed across the wetlands of Perthshire's Bamff Wildland - the UK’s most mature modern beaver habitat - this multi-sensory project merges drone footage, thermal imagery, trail-camera vignettes and cinematic video. Featuring a live performance from the award-winning GBSR Duo (George Barton, Siwan Rhys) and an art installation, it reveals how these elusive creatures re-plumb entire watersheds: slowing torrents, trapping silt, and sculpting dynamic wetlands.
Threaded throughout is the voice of river ecologist Duncan Pepper. Drawn from an extended interview, his insights illuminate how beaver dams and woody debris radically alter rivers and water flow. Heard within both the performance and installation, his words act as a guide, grounding the work’s imagery and sound in lived expertise and ecological understanding.
Also included are time-lapsed evolutions—ponds swelling over seasons, channels diverted by gnawed timber, and maps charting water’s redirected dance. Audible are the sonic textures of their labour: wood splintering under teeth, midnight dives, and currents murmuring through spillways, captured by audio moths and cameras. Sculptural beaver wood spills from large-scale prints into the gallery, blurring artefact and artistry. The duo mirrors this alchemy, weaving struck and bowed objects, electronics, piano, and field recordings into a score that ebbs with the land’s rhythm.
In association with The Barn. Commissioned by sound. With support from the Hope Scott Trust.
