In Greek Mythology, Syrinx was a woodland nymph known for her beauty, youth, chastity and crystalline voice. The sexually omnivorous woodland god Pan saw to her permanent demise. After failing to seduce her, he chased her into the River in order to rape her. To save her chastity, she turned into reeds. Pan angrily sliced the reeds from the stalk and out of them, fashioned his seductive flute.
A Syrinx is also the term for the vocal organ of a bird – comparable to a human larynx. Birds and humans share a tremendous vocal ability and range, a trait connecting us throughout our respective evolution.
On the Use of a Syrinx is a 14-minute video exploring narrative form, gender performance, and man's problematic relationship to the wild. Amid the setting of a resplendent wetland in early spring, a hunter lures a dominant male bird into shooting range by imitating the sexual calls of a female bird. During the actual hunt, the hunter translates his calls into English and constructs a seduction narrative that calls into question the delineation between human and wild, male and female, dominant and submissive.
Whetstone filmed several camouflaged wild turkey hunters over the course of two years. During these sessions he attached a small microphone that records the hunter whispering the translation of the birdcalls into English. Whetstone directed one particular hunter's monologue and constructed a seduction thriller based on narrative strategies of Hitchcock films and cinema verité. Whetstone directed, filmed, mixed, and edited the video.