Forgotten Songs, Art installation in Angel Place, Sydney, Australia
Forgotten Songs is an art installation in Angel Place, a narrow laneway in central Sydney, featuring 120 empty birdcages hung overhead. Each cage holds speakers playing recordings of native bird songs that sound continuously throughout the day and night.
The work started in 2009 as a temporary art project and became permanent in 2011 after people in Sydney embraced it. The artist created it to highlight how city growth had displaced native animals from the area.
The installation honors bird species that once filled the center of Sydney before the city expanded. It makes visitors aware of how urbanization changed which animals live downtown and draws attention to their absence from the area.
The best time to visit is early morning when bird calls are most active, or evening to hear nocturnal species. The laneway is always open and free to walk through whenever you pass by the area.
The names of the 50 displaced bird species are carved into the pavement below the cages, visible as you walk through. This hidden detail links the birds' story to the actual ground they once inhabited.
Location: City of Sydney
Inception: 2009
Made from material: birdcage
GPS coordinates: -33.86720,151.20782
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:44
Sydney offers many places to photograph beyond the usual tourist routes. The city spreads from the harbor to outer suburbs, combining coastal landscapes with historic neighborhoods and modern urban spaces. Those looking for less common subjects will find small waterside parks, old industrial sites, tidal pools, and viewpoints that show the city from different angles. Architecture ranges from colonial-era buildings to contemporary structures, and the coastline reveals coves and rock formations that differ from the well-known harbor scenes. In Lavender Bay, Wendy's Garden is a terraced garden with views of the harbor bridge. The Queen Victoria Building in the city center has a whispering gallery where sound travels in unusual ways across the space. Bare Island at La Perouse is a former military installation on a small island connected by a causeway. Cockatoo Island in the harbor once served as a shipyard and prison, and still shows the old machinery and warehouses. Hornby Lighthouse at Watsons Bay stands on a cliff above the ocean. Ballast Point Park in Balmain East has a narrow beach and remnants of old industrial buildings. Susannah Place Museum in The Rocks preserves four terrace houses from the 19th century. The Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour follows traditional design principles with pavilions, water, and constructed paths.
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