Echovision

People often harbor misconceptions about bats, viewing them as dangerous, dirty, or associated with negative superstitions. Common myths include the belief that bats are blind, that they commonly get tangled in human hair, or that they are primarily carriers of diseases (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic). These misconceptions contribute to a general fear and misunderstanding of bats, overshadowing their ecological importance and unique biological features. Bats are ecologically vital, providing essential benefits such as pest control by consuming large quantities of insects, pollination of numerous plants, and seed dispersal that aids in forest regeneration. Their guano enriches soil fertility, contributing to nutrient cycling. These roles help maintain ecosystem balance and biodiversity. EchoVision aims to challenge and transform these misconceptions by providing participants with an immersive, empathetic experience of the world through a bat's perspective. By simulating echolocation using sound visualization and mixed reality technology, EchoVision allows users to understand how bats navigate and perceive their environment with remarkable precision. This interactive experience highlights the sophistication and elegance of bat echolocation, fostering a greater appreciation for their role in ecosystems, such as pest control and pollination. Through EchoVision, participants can see bats not as menacing creatures but as fascinating and integral parts of the natural world. The installation encourages scientific learning and empathetic engagement, promoting an ecocentric design perspective that values the diverse ways non-human creatures interact with their surroundings. By offering a new perspective, EchoVision helps dispel myths, reduces unfounded fears, and inspires a deeper connection to and respect for bats and their vital ecological contributions.

We premiered EchoVision at The Contemporary Austin as part of the Fusebox Festival. The Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas, famously hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, with roughly 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats residing beneath it every summer. Our performance started under the bat bridge with our collaborator, the bat conservationist Merlin Tuttle, who saved the 1.5 million bats under the Austin Bridge from extermination. About 500 people came. They listened to Merlin’s captivating stories with bats, watched the huge number of bats flying out of the bat bridge after sunset, and experienced EchoVision to be like a bat and to have a rare glimpse into the bat's perceptual universe. Then, the adventure progressed with a walk straight down Congress Avenue to The Contemporary Austin Museum, where Jiabao Li and Matt McCorkle performed a live bat-inspired soundscape event called "Nocturnal Fugue." Nocturnal Fugue uses bat vocalizations—from social calls to mating rituals—to artistically create a mesmerizing sonic experience. This soundscape is combined with visual projections that represent the environment in which the specific bat call is being made or in response to. At the rooftop, we served Tequila. Bats are agave pollinators. They are part of the key process that turns agave flowers into tequila.

EchoVision premiered at the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas—home to the world’s largest urban bat colony, comprising approximately 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats. Our pop-up exhibition, which drew over 200 participants, unfolded beneath this remarkable "bat bridge" in collaboration with renowned bat conservationist Merlin Tuttle, celebrated for his pivotal role in preserving Austin’s bridge-dwelling bat population.

The event progressed through three engaging phases:

• Participants gathered to hear Merlin Tuttle’s captivating narratives about bats and conservation efforts.
• Participants experienced EchoVision firsthand, allowing them to glimpse the world through a bat’s unique sensory perspective. The handheld devices were passed from person to person, creating a self-propagating experience.
• As dusk descended, participants witnessed the awe-inspiring spectacle of countless bats emerging from their daytime roost to hunt insects beneath the bridge.

This multifaceted event seamlessly merged ecological education, natural wonder, sensory experience, and cutting-edge technology. The social, interactive nature of the pop-up exhibition offered participants an immersive introduction to bats’ perceptual umwelt, bridging ecological knowledge with embodied experience and fostering a collective eco-phenomenological understanding of bat ecology.