Animal Archive

Animal Archive was created for OpenField Contemporary Arts Festival in Berry NSW. In the historic Berry Showgrounds, we chose for our site the little tower building, the announcer’s booth, where judgements about the show animals are broadcast over the Public Address system during Show time.

We recorded animals during the Berry Show, and we called out to passionate horse and hen keepers for their own recordings, asking people to interpret their animals' utterances. Dingoes and koalas, who occupied the site long before the Showground, were given their voices too. We amplified the animals' voices all around the ring over the PA, at hourly intervals during the Festival.

Inside the announcer's booth, an archive drew on the long memory of trees, with books and files written in the grain and knots of wood. Embedded videos and sounds, a saddle, blinkers, bits and stirrups, bird wire and moulted feathers, a wood carving, and buckets made of bark all spoke of the deal humans have offered to wild creatures – domesticity, in return for protection from predators and hunger.

We heard the animals of the bush and the backyard, and the animals of the Berry Show; their voices have spurred our ongoing research into the long and complicated history of our human engagement with animals – domestic, feral and wild – and what it means for our possible futures together.

Many thanks to OpenField Festival and to all the animals and humans who have contributed to this work- Berry Show 2025: horses and chickens entered in the show^{4 5}. Dingos and Koalas: Madeline Newbery, Margot Law, Jen Tobey & Bill Ellis, Alison & Boyd & Brownie Brass meeting Dingos on the Pass 2010 & Barmah National Park 2022. Chickens: Jill Sampson with Ms Chook ¹, Gretchen Miller with Amy Henhouse, Penny, Taylor Swift & Shania (Tweet); Chris Johnstone with Chickitita, Tilly Girl & Tilly Baby, Precious, Lord Snow, Queenie, Big Boris, Lancelot Jr, Pretty Pretty & the Spike Brothers; Venessa and Lily Adillon with Nutella, Whitey & Pattern; Alison and Boyd with Cutie Pole, Wee Sister, Henny Penny & Midnight. Moulted feathers courtesy of Cutie Pole, Henny Penny, Midnight, and Henrietta, Chicky Dee & The Dell-Ice-Sub-terrain-Beat-Master (Beaty) via Carolina & Gus Sullivan. Horses: Ruby Davies with Betty & Buddy², Fiona Kemp with Bundy³, Carolina & Gus Sullivan with Salt & Pepper, Sugar & Spice, Lochie & Marnie.

^{1 “She was cranky at me. She stood there telling me off. She’s too old to lay an egg now, but she does still try. She may have been trying when I slammed shut a vehicle door next to the tractor. I didn’t know she was there! But she immediately stood there looking and yelling at me!” 2 “Betty calling in some distress being separated from her paddock buddy for a few moments. She has quite a deep and resonant voice, a big strong gal with a wide resonant chest”. 3 “Bundy’s favourite apple is Crispity Kanzi” 4 The agitated horse is very upset at being separated from their friend, who was still competing in the showjumping. Shortly afterwards, reunion brought contentment. 5 Chickens in the Poultry judging at Berry Show, some clearly agitated. Roosters crowing. Additional Field Recording, Boyd: Dawn Chorus Burragorang Valley January 2017}