#131: The Cuckoo Box
Finding wonder in the lights and sounds of Lumiére
What is this object pictured above? What purpose does it hold? And why have I called it a cuckoo box? You have to watch the very short video below to find out:
Isn’t it fun? Now you will understand its name, as your face lit up when you heard that delightful sound, “cuck-oo”. But what is its purpose? Why has someone made such an object?
This little contraption was one of 20 immersive installations in the Durham Botanical Gardens’ For the Birds exhibit as part of Lumiére, a festival of light which Eleanor wrote about last Sunday. For 30–45 minutes we wandered along the paths in the Botanics in the dark, led by lights placed around the garden to create a “re-imagined version” of the green spaces in Durham. This little cuckoo box was made by Jony Easterby, and it was one of my particular favourites out of the 20 or so installations we discovered.
Why? Well, I love the object itself, its simplicity and its miniature size. I also loved the space it was situated in, a little forest of these boxes making similar sounds at different times, so that it sounded like you were surrounded by little cuckoos.
I also loved that I was not alone in the space, but joined by other fellow Lumiére attendees. When we approached these cuckoo boxes we were a community of intrigued and expectant viewers, and we all paused with our eyes focussed on this object, lit up in a spotlight against the backdrop of the dark garden. There was anticipation in the air, patience, and interest. We watched as the little metal rod rotated, slowly lifting the handles of what look like squeezeboxes, and then —
“cuck-oo”.
And we all replied:
“Ooh!”
It was an exclamatory “ooh”, a combination of surprise and joy, followed by a little laugh by each of us. And when we moved onto the next cuckoo box, we had the same response, and that continued. Even as we learnt to expect the sound, every time an “ooh” sounded in the air, and smiles were brought to our faces.
This was the lovely part of lumiére, sharing in a child-like joy with strangers at these installations. They piqued our curiosity, as art often does, and entertained us in their delightful and simple way, and we shared this experience together. As we followed the lights in the darkness, never quite knowing what to expect, we joined together in our joy and wonder at these little installations of art.
